Inside Trump’s Mad Dash to Renovate Washington

Do you have a minute? We make a podcast. called The Daily. >> Sure. >> We're in town looking at all of the. renovations and construction work that. presidents have undertaken, the. reflecting pool, Lafayette Park, and the. arch that's going to be built behind us. And we're just trying to figure out what. people are thinking about it. >> I think it's a mess. I really I'm really disappointed because. we're here for my granddaughter's 16th. birthday. She wanted to come to D.C.,

see all the stuff, and I really thought. that pool would be finished. [music]. >> Um I'm very sad that this year our trip. they're renovating the pool because um. all the other years before they saw very. nice views from the pool. And we. Can I. >> From The New York Times, I'm Michael. Barbaro. >> What's up, guys? >> What do you think about the reflecting. pool? >> We think that it should be open. [laughter] for. >> This is The Daily. In the lead-up [music] to America's. 250th birthday this summer,

President Trump is spending hundreds of. millions of dollars on a massive. renovation of the nation's capital. >> I think it's good. I mean, they're. fixing it up, making it look pretty. I. mean, this is Washington, D.C. Everyone's going to come here. >> And depending on where you sit, these projects [music] are either boldly. slicing through bureaucratic red tape to. bring Washington back to its glory. >> Love him. I 100% behind him. He's making. this wonderful D.C. look greatly. beautiful again.

>> All right, tell us about your the arch. >> The arch, 100% behind the arch as well. >> Or. >> I think when things are done, why change. them? And then change them again. It was made that way for a reason. Why. change it? >> [music]. >> They are blowing through every single. rule and regulation designed to [music]. protect taxpayer dollars. and safeguard the historical integrity. of the city. >> I I don't like any of it. I believe it's. all about his ego and not about our. country. And so for me that doesn't.

work. >> So today, >> [music]. >> we're taking a walking tour of the sites. that Trump is remaking with our. colleague David [music] Fahrenthold, who. has been investigating exactly how these. projects have come together and what. they will mean for the country's most. iconic public spaces. [music]. It's Monday, June 1st. >> Hey.

>> Hello David, what's going on, man? >> Pleasure. >> You too. >> Our tour guide has arrived. >> you guys? >> Welcome to DC. >> Thank you so much. Thank you for being. our tour guide today. >> So our plan. if you sign on to it. >> Yes. >> is for you to take us. to. the biggest construction sites. across the mall. We're going to start. where we're standing in front of. Lafayette Park in downtown Washington, DC. Literally a stone's throw from the White. House. Then we're going to go to the.

reflecting pool and we're going to end. with the arch. But. your reporting, as best I can tell on. all this, starts right here in Lafayette. Park. >> So just. tell us that story. >> So I cover government contracts. I write. about how the government spends its. money and the way that it chooses the. people it pays. President Trump in his second term has. been obsessed and very ambitious about. changing Washington, renovating, repairing, improving the physical.

surroundings of downtown Washington, the. place where he works. And those projects. are happening all over and I was really. interested in seeing how those projects. came together. What were those contracts. like? Who was getting paid? How were. they getting paid and how did they get. selected? >> Mhm. >> And my curiosity led me to this one. particular, the renovation of Lafayette. Park particularly. because of what I found in government. contracting records, or more precisely. what I didn't find. The contract to fix. this park is secret.

It doesn't exist in any of the public. databases of government spending. >> That's unusual. >> Yes, very unusual for something like. this. Like, we're not building a missile. launch site. This is not a bunker. There seemed to be no reason why it. would be secret. And then when we did get a copy of that. contract, the story we pieced together. was even more interesting. Now, what needs to happen in Lafayette. Park is fairly simple. There's a couple. of fountains built in in the 1960s that. don't work. And after talking to many, many people about Washington fountains, I've come to the personal belief that. fountains are just a demonstration of. man's hubris, the belief that we can.

[laughter] harness and conquer nature, and we're always proven wrong. Fountains. always break. >> And just to say like, it's a big. fountain that's right right in front of. us. It looks like, I don't know, maybe. 300, 400 square feet across. >> It's not the Bellagio, but it is a. pretty big fountain. There's two. fountains, each of them has sort of two. spray rings as they call them, and they. don't work. They haven't worked for a. few years. So, the job was to just. repair those so the water can start. flowing again. It's not top secret. It's not. particularly hard. It's something that. happens in the government all the time. But, what we found was that the contract.

was given out on a no-bid basis. So, the. government selected a contractor without. going through the legally required. process of comparing offers and figuring. out who could do the best job for the. least money. >> Right, which is what. most people think of is just best. practice, whether you're having a tree. taken down in your yard or a deck built. on your house, you ask two, three, if. you're really ambitious, four companies. to tell you what they're going to charge. you. >> Right. When it's your money, that seems. obvious, right? And the reason these.

laws exist is because the government is. not spending its own money. They have to. Yeah, they have to make sure that the. government follows these procedures so. that they're getting the same good deal. for us the taxpayers that we would try. to get for ourselves if it was our air. conditioner that broke or our plumbing. or our fountain or whatever. >> Right. And what's the administration's. rationale for giving this contract out. with zero bidding process. >> Well, they've cited an exemption that. does exist in the law for urgent. situations. These are times when there's. no time to seek other bids because. there's some sort of emergency going on, often in natural disasters or wartime.

They've cited that as a reason not to. seek other bids and just go with this. bid here. And the urgency in this case. is not a war, obviously, or a natural. disaster, but just that the president. wants this done by July 4th. >> For the 250th. >> Right. But remember, the 250th anniversary of the country has. been on the calendar for 250 years. [laughter]. And also, the Trump administration. started talking about this and caring. about this last spring. So, it's not. like this deadline, July 4th, 2026, appeared out of the first time out of. nowhere in the beginning of this year. It's something that had been on their. calendar from the beginning.

>> And David, once you figure out what's. inside of this contract, what do you. come to understand about how much this. one bidding company is charging we the. taxpayers for these fountains? >> Right now, this contract is worth $17. million. And what we were able to tell. by looking inside the government's. contracting records was that the. original estimate the government had. gotten from this job. It had reached out. in the Biden era to an independent. estimator to get a sense of how much it. ought to cost was about 3, 4 million. dollars. >> Wow. >> And you could tell by looking in the. records that the Trump administration.

had gone into that and pumped that. figure up in a couple of ways that. contracting officials told us was odd. >> Such as? >> Well, they counted inflation twice. They. increased it for inflation and then. increased it again for inflation. >> I want to count inflation twice. >> Right, exactly. If I'm selling a home, I'm definitely going to do that. >> And $17 million, in the grand scheme of. federal funding, is not a ton of money, just to be clear, right? It's like half of a wing of a. fighter plane. >> Right. >> How are we to really think about why. that number. is a big deal?

>> It's not a lot of money in the context. of the federal government, but it is. really emblematic of something that we. have seen all over Washington, and in. some places all over the federal. government, which is the Trump. administration is bypassing the. competitive process that is set up in. the law to make sure taxpayers get the. best deal and handing out contracts. without competition, often to companies. that have some sort of connection to the. president or his administration. >> Okay, well, since you raised it, what. should we know about the company that. got this no-bid contract on the. fountains?

>> The company that got these contracts is. called Clark Construction. It's a really. large company based in Maryland. It's. done government contracts for 100 years. >> Yeah, I've seen their flags flying over. buildings in New York City. >> Right. It's It's This is a big company, but they are in a special relationship. with Trump because they are the ones. building his White House ballroom. >> Mhm. >> And the White House ballroom is not like. other federal projects. We don't know. how much it's going to cost. Trump has. said 400 million, but we don't really. know. >> He's also said he may need an additional. 1 billion for security underneath that. he would like the taxpayers to fund. >> Exactly, right. He said it's going to. come from all private donations, but.

then he's also asked for a billion. dollars from Congress. And we don't. really know how much Clark is going to. make off of this, right? Trump has. actually said publicly that Clark is not. going to be paid at all. He said that. Clark has offered to do this ballroom. project for free. We don't think that's true, but it's. clear that they have taken on this. special relationship on a big project. with it seems like uncertain dimensions. and also uncertain funding sources, all. putting themselves in the good graces of. Trump for now. >> So, perhaps a cynic would wonder. is the fountain project with its.

potentially inflated costs. a thing you give a company doing you a. favor? >> Right. There certainly are people that. see it that way. Clark told us they did. everything above board. There's nothing. sort of wrong about the way they handled. this project, but certainly they are. getting paid a lot more than the. government originally thought they. should get paid for this project and the. details of those payments, if we hadn't. reported them, would be totally secret. >> You can kind of see the logic if you're. the president. Clark's already working.

on my ballroom on the White House. property. I have something else for them to do. across the street. Just take care of. that. >> You're right. There is logic and that. was one of the things they cited was. that Clark was already staging its. equipment nearby and so it would be. easier for them. There's also a concern. about security clearance. Clark has. security clearance to work inside the. White House grounds and sometimes. Lafayette Park is closed off for. diplomatic events and effectively. becomes part of the White House security. perimeter. And it's important to know that like the. White House does have sort of special.

rules for building within the White. House grounds, but we are here in the. real world right outside the White House. fence where all the normal laws are. supposed to apply. So, what we're seeing. is that the approach President Trump has. taken to the ballroom, which is like. let's keep everything secret, you know, let's pick people that the president. handpicks is now sort of like bleeding. outside the White House grounds into the. real world and this is the first example. of it. >> In other words, what the president's. doing with the ballroom, that's in its. own category. It's the White House, it's. the president, a lot of it is, we're. told, private funds.

But once we get into Lafayette Park, we're in a whole other world. Tax dollars, public space, and a legal. process that's supposed to apply that's. being disregarded and treated as if this. is all just an extension of the White. House. >> That's right. >> So, with all that backstory, how's the. work actually going? Is it going fast? Is it going to be ready? >> It does seem to be going fast. The work. has expanded into a few other things in. the park including some benches and. landscaping, but the heart of it is. still the fountains. And the fountains, we are told they've tested them, they.

flow, they're on track to be ready, the. government says, for July 4th. And as we. look at them right now, there's still. some sort of blue painter's tape around. the outside. It seems like the work is. still going on. >> Right. But when it is ready, I think it's fair. to say it's going to be beautiful. This. is a very prime location directly in. front of the White House and to have two. highly functioning rings of water will. probably make this a lovely destination. for tourists, for nearby office workers. The New York Times bureau's is there. I.

I could see myself coming here and. having a sandwich. >> It would certainly will be beautiful. And it's important to know that there. are broken fountains, or there were. broken fountains and Park Service. properties all over DC. And President. Trump has made those things a priority. in a way that no previous presidents. had. He's used Park Service funding that. was meant to serve the whole country to. renovate those fountains. So, there are. fountains all over Washington, including. some that probably the president will. never see in neighborhoods that are used. by Washingtonians that are flowing now. for the first time in a long time. >> Mhm. >> Because of what President Trump did.

>> Which is, I think inarguably, a good. thing. Fountains that actually. fountain. >> [laughter]. >> Uh yes. >> And as we know, this is really the starting point. This. is, so to speak, where the president is. getting his feet wet. And. I think that brings us to our next. location, which is the Reflecting Pool. >> Right. A much bigger project and a much. bigger pool. >> So, let's take the very long walk from. here to the Reflecting Pool. Let's go.

>> [music]. >> Uh what's the fastest way to get there? >> We got to get over this way and then. it's a little bit left in here, so let's. go over to 17th Street. >> Okay. All right. So, we're just being paused in front of. a security gate outside the White House. where a. black SUV is going in. >> Uh I think this is the um preparations. for the UFC fight. >> What's that? >> I think this is the preparations for the. UFC fight.

>> As we get a little bit closer to the. Reflecting Pool, I just wanted to. observe. some of the sight lines that we can see. because they feel so central to how this. place. works. The Washington Monument's in. front of us, behind it the Capitol Dome, and if you turn around, you can look. directly into the Lincoln Memorial. And. these things exist clearly in a in a. line that's super intentional. >> That's right. And so much of the city is. engineered that way. Even the heights of. the buildings, the widths of the. avenues, making sure that when you're at. one landmark you can see another and.

that you sort of get that message that. these, you know, the branches of. government, the parts of our history are. linked together. >> Right. >> In a country that changes this much and. is so focused on progress, Washington is. frozen and changes so slowly to provide. that kind of reminder, right? We're. reminded both of the origins of our. government, but also like of the history. that created that country. And we're. not, you know, we don't change that even. small details of that without really, really thinking about it. All right. With that, let's walk through the World. War II Memorial to the Reflecting Pool.

We'll be right back. >> [music]. >> Okay, so now that we are at Reflecting. Pool. and before we talk about this. construction work which you can. literally hear and there's a. metal gate being locked in front of us.

Just remind us about the place of this. Reflecting Pool. on the Mall and its place in the larger. Washington D.C. mythology. >> So, the Reflecting Pool was built in the. '20s along with the Lincoln Memorial and. the point of it is to amplify both the. Lincoln Memorial at one end and the. Washington Monument at the other. So, you stand at one, you look across and. you see a mirror image of the other. great monument. You see sort of them. double. And it was designed to be. invisible in that way. You don't look at.

the pool to see the pool, you look at it. to see a reflection of both the. monuments around it and also the sort of. history-making events that have happened. along the sides of it. >> Right, which are many. >> Which are many. And people may know the. a fictionalized one which is the scene. in Forrest Gump where Jenny jumps into. the pool to see Forrest. >> Uh, but there also have been many famous. real events going back to the 1960s, the. I Have a Dream speech by Martin Luther. King, some huge protests against the. >> Million Man March? >> Million Man March in the 1990s, gatherings of the left and the right. President Trump counts it as the scene.

of one of his great events after his. election in 2016. So, just think about. how many Americans, we're seeing them. around us today, have come here, stood. at this place, looked out at this. reflecting pool and thought, you know, I'm standing in the place where history. happened. But, of course, the reflecting pool of. film and American lore is not what we. are looking at. right now. No, we're standing in front. of a construction site. The reflecting. pool is empty of water. Instead, it has. a semi-truck, lots of trailers, generators, a lot of construction.

equipment. There's sandbags and. >> Porta Potties. >> four Porta Potties, barrels of supplies. We're looking at a very large. construction site here. >> So, talk us through the construction. that's happening here and how it fits. into the larger reporting project you've. been up to. >> Well, the project we're seeing in front. of us is another example of the Trump. administration bypassing the usual. competitive bidding process and just. handing an important contract directly. to one company. >> Okay. And what is that company? >> Company's called Atlantic Industrial. Coatings. It's a small company based in.

a place called New Canton, Virginia. Oddly, President Trump told the story. several times of how this company was. hired. He said, "I realized that it was. actually just a giant swimming pool. I. talked to the swimming pool guys from my. golf clubs. I picked the guy who'd done. a great job at my golf club in Northern. Virginia, and I called him and they said. I said, "Can you take care of it?" He. said, "Great, you know, I can handle. it.". >> But, a pool's a pool. >> "A pool's a pool, and we'll do it like a. pool." And that was what President Trump. said several times in public. It turns out that's not true. As far as.

I can tell, this company advertises no. experience doing swimming pools. Their. experience is in things like coding. highway culverts, fuel tanks, waterproofing things, but not swimming. pools. And I also don't think they've. ever worked for the Trump organization. And now Trump himself has said as much. He said, "I don't know this company, and. they never worked for me.". Raising again the question of how they. got this job. It's odd that this company, uh, which. doesn't have any advertising experience. doing even small swimming pools, would. be entrusted by the government without. any sort of competitive bidding process,

but that is what happened. >> And this is this company's first time. doing work for the federal government. >> their first ever federal contract. >> Wow, it's a pretty big stage to make a. debut on. >> It is. That's right. >> And what is the scope of work that this. company is undertaking here to get this. thing fully functioning by the 250th. anniversary? >> Well, we could see that work in front of. us. So, one of the things they're doing. is spreading a waterproofing compound on. the 8-in thick concrete slabs. They're. also filling in the gaps or trying to. fill in the gaps between the concrete. slabs. >> supposed to address the leaks.

>> Okay. >> To understand though why that was such a. risk, I think you need to know a little. bit more about why the pool has been. troublesome and why it needs repair. >> Okay. >> The pool has three main problems. The water leaks out between the concrete. slabs. There are pipes that connect the pool to. its filtration system, which is behind. us here a few hundred yards away. Those. pipes often break and leak, which means. they have to shut everything down or. else the water just leaks out into the. ground. And then at the filtration site, there's also a need for a better filter. because algae blooms makes the water.

green and matted and ugly and actually. makes it impossible to reflect in some. cases. So, lots of administrations have. tried over the years to fix those. problems. So, President Trump in his. first term started thinking about how do. I fix the problems of the reflecting. pool. And what we're seeing now is that. in his second term he is actually trying. to make those repairs happen. Here's what's odd about what the Trump. administration is doing. They are doing. two of the three things that needed to. be done before. They're trying to fix the leaky joints. between the concrete slabs. Another.

contract, not by done by this company, is putting [music] a new filtration. system in. But, they're not doing one. key piece, which is fixing the pipes. that connect the pool with that. filtration system. And if those don't. get fixed and they continue to leak, then the algae problem could recur. because you're not getting the water to. the place where it's cleaned. >> And why wouldn't you just. fix this root to stem, fix the pipes, permanently restore this pool? >> It's a great question. That was the plan. starting in the first Trump. administration through Biden. The plan. was to do all three of those things.

Seal the pool, fix the pipes, fix the. filtration. Somewhere this year the fix. the pipes thing got put on the shelf. They say now they might do it in the. fall, um but it's not happening now. And. until that gets done, well people we've. talked to said it's not a permanent fix. And we see in Park Service documents. that the Park Service says, you know, our own people didn't come up. with this plan to fix the pool. The. person who came up with it is a guy. named David S, an administration.

advisor. >> Hm. >> Who is David S? If you look in other. documents related to this contract, you. see that a guy named David. Schutzenhofer, who's the general manager. of Trump's golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey, was advising the Park. Service on this job, was helping connect. them with other vendors. Uh we don't. know for sure that he is the same David. S, but you see that the origins of this. whole idea, the whole plan for fixing. this pool, have come from outside the. Park Service. And it was an idea they. hadn't even considered before. So, that. gives you a sense of how kind of out of.

the box this solution is. >> What is the price tag. that this company is charging all of us. to do this work? >> It's charging right now $14.1 million. That is notable because it's also. different than President Trump first. described. He originally said this. contract would cost $1.8 million. It's. now obviously seven times that. >> Okay. And do we know why? >> The this contract is is as large as it. is in part because the company is. charging 20% for overhead and then 20%. more for profit. Now, we've seen Park.

Service documents that show that even. within the Park Service, people believe. that those two percentages, 20% and 20%, were excessive and inflated. The Park. Service is paying them anyway, in part. because they're on a very quick. timeline. The government wanted this. work done so badly that it actually told. them to start work before they agreed on. a price tag. And so, that means that. later on when they came to haggle over. the final price, the pool was already. partly underway. The government has very. little leverage to come back then and. say, "Hey, listen, we're not going to. pay the full price." Like, you know, would they really threaten to kick them.

off, you know, with the work partly. done? >> Right. And with everyone understanding. that the president wants to get this. thing ready for 250th, which means we. really only have a couple months left. >> The original due date for this project. was May 22nd. Now President Trump is saying the real. deadline is July 4th. >> Right. Which I think brings me to the. final issue with the reflecting pool, which is the president's selection of a. very specific shade of blue, which I am. looking at, and I just want to ask you. about it. >> Well, a lot of the pool's bottom is.

painted a dark shade of blue. President. Trump said that he had originally wanted. it to be turquoise, like the Bahamas, but that the contractor that he had. hired for this told him that that it. should be American flag blue. And so, American flag blue is what they've. settled on. >> Kind of a deep navy blue. >> Yeah, it's a dark kind of blue, dark. blue jean blue. That is the color now of most of the. pool. It will be the the final color of. the entire pool. And the question is, what will it look like when it is. filled? People that I've talked to, landscape architecture experts, say that. it probably will not affect the. reflectivity. What matter What makes it.

reflective is that it's shallow and it's. dark, and it will still have both of. those elements. >> So, in the end, when it comes to the. reflecting pool, we have a project. that's not going to solve what may be. all the big underlying problems. And. because the administration granted this. to a single company and didn't put it. out for any competitive bidding process, we don't know if somebody might have. come along and said, "Actually, I can do. it for less than 13 million." We'll. never know that because of the way that. this contract was awarded. >> That's right. This case really embodies.

the risks of no bid contracts, right? Without knowing what other people would. charge, without knowing how other people. would have attacked these same problems, it's really hard to know if what they. have here is the right solution, the. best solution, the cheapest solution. It's impossible to evaluate what else. could have been done. We only know what. they have. All right, David, we have one last stop. on this tour and that is the arch. That's right, we're now going to walk. west to the Lincoln Memorial to look. across the Potomac River at the future. site of the triumphal arch.

>> arch. The United States. triumphal arch. >> Cool. >> It's less blue than I thought it was. going to be. I guess that I thought that. they would. Look, there's the Lincoln Memorial right. over there. This is by far my favorite. I think it's everyone's favorite. >> Yeah, mine as well. >> Monument on the mall? Cuz there's something spectacular about. going into his little home.

>> Right, it is grand and also intimate. when you get inside there. Should we just go to this little like. patch of green here? Or do you want to. go across the bridge? I'm happy to do. either one. Can we stand up on this? >> I don't think so. I don't I don't think. there's any problem with. >> Parkour! >> So, David, we just scaled the wall and.

now we're sitting on a patch of grass. behind the Lincoln Memorial and we've. picked an incredible moment to have a. conversation about the arch. Let me. explain why. There is currently a. protest, a group of people marching. against the arch. They have handwritten. signs saying no arch. >> a tuba, there's a band in there. >> There are people beeping and. that. volume is on top of all the traffic and. the planes going overhead. So, just. explain to us as we're looking.

down at the Arlington Memorial Bridge, how the arch is going to fit into the. view that we're taking in right now, and. what you've learned about the process. behind the arch so far. >> Well, what we're looking at now across. the other end of the bridge is a green. hillside in Virginia that belongs to. Arlington National Cemetery. Instead, with the arches completed, you will see. a very large 250 ft tall, that's 25. story tall triumphal arch, which is a. little bit like the Arc de Triomphe in. Paris, but bigger, and it will have. golden statues. I believe they'll be.

angels and eagles. It'll be a really. large arch dominating this view. >> It's got to be the biggest new. construction in this kind of official. stretch of Washington in decades. >> That's right. It will be something on. the scale of or bigger than the Lincoln. Memorial. We haven't built anything that. large as a monument on the mall in, as. you said, decades. >> And how has the president gotten the. arch to this point, and how emblematic. is it of what we just saw at Lafayette.

and with the reflecting pool? >> Well, there hasn't been any contracts. assigned yet, so we don't know if. there's going to be no-bid contracts or. not, but it is of a similar vein in that. he is trying as much as he can to avoid. or bypass outside oversight. [music] So, even to Congress. So, there's been a. he's made the point to Congress that. normally they would have to approve. something this large in Washington's. monumental core, but he said they don't. need to because 100 years ago another. Congress approved a sort of. similar-sounding project that was never. built, and so it already has. congressional approval. >> creative. >> Yes, it is similar to the other projects.

in that they are going as fast as they. can to build something as big as they. can. >> And what kind of opposition has or. hasn't it aroused [music] besides the. honking horns here on the road? >> a lot of people in Washington are. unhappy about it. There have been some. lawsuits filed. There are people who. would like to stop this in its tracks. A group of veterans have sued saying. that this disrupts the view of Arlington. Cemetery, but none of them have. succeeded so far. There have been some incremental changes. as a result of some of the review boards. that have considered it. It's gotten. slightly shorter. I believe some of the.

lions have come off, but the fundamental. shape of it is still for now the same. The noise we're hearing from the planes. is a reminder of one of the big hurdles. laying in front of it, which is actually. that it this is on the flight path, the. approach to Washington National Airport. And there is a concern that the FAA. might block it because it will. be too much of a construction on air. traffic. So, there are some hurdles in. front of it, but I if I had to bet, I. would bet that it's going to be built. >> Well, we talked before about sight. lines, and I do think it's worth just. spending a second on what this arch.

would change. because there are some really specific. structures on the hill behind the. Arlington Memorial Bridge that. relate to the Civil War, right? Relate. back to the Lincoln Memorial and all. these. kind of reciprocal relationships between. the monuments of Washington. >> Okay, so if you will indulge me as a. transplanted Washingtonian, I think this. is one of the most remarkable places in. Washington. So, we're standing here by.

the Lincoln Memorial, a symbol of the. rebinding of North and South. So, what's. beyond us on the other side of the. bridge is Arlington House, which. belonged to Robert E. Lee. It was Robert. E. Lee's home before he left to become. the leader, the top general of the. Confederacy. >> A bridge between the home of the man who. tried to tear the Union asunder and the. president who through great. determination made sure that the country. stayed whole. >> Right. And the the graves of the folks. who died to win that war. And so, if. you're going to block that, right? If. you're going to put something in between.

these two symbols of the greatest crisis. in American history and the. reconciliation that followed, you better. have a really good reason, right? It. better really mean something that you're. putting that there and blocking the view. of this incredible piece of American. history that's just right across the. river from Washington. >> and what is the reason why the the. wants to put this arch here at this. moment and as best I can tell and Times. 3D renderings does show this, it. substantially does change the view. especially from Arlington House from. Arlington Cemetery back towards the.

Lincoln Memorial. >> My reading of it is that he wants an. arch. He's talked about how all great. cities have arches, London, Paris, Rome, and so Washington needs one and this is. the easiest place to put an arch because. it's a big empty lawn. around which traffic flows. >> What President Trump says this arch is. meant to celebrate is all of us, the 250. years of American history. But it seems. in some ways to be more a monument to. President Trump and his importance in. American history. And to the degree that. there's any singular person or cause.

associated with this arch, it's him. >> Well, you know, it strikes me that any. change to the official. Washington infrastructure. makes people crazy. And. I'm remembering the battle that preceded. the construction of the World War II. Memorial which we walked through on our. way to the reflecting pool. It was the late 1990s. I was in high. school. There was a huge fight about. whether that memorial was going to muck. up the National Mall. And. it got built.

>> Yep. >> despite that huge battle. >> [music]. >> And now no one thinks twice about it. You walk through it. It's just not that. big a deal and you. kind of can't imagine that there was. ever a big battle over it at all. And I. wonder if that's ultimately going to be. the case. >> [music]. >> with the arch. Yes, it's going to. deprive someone standing at the. Arlington House of a very specific view. back to the Lincoln Memorial. But is. that really such a big deal? And will. people walk under it, drive under it, and ultimately not think that much about.

or be grateful for the fact that there's. this bold, beautiful arch at the end of. the mall? >> I think you are right that if it is. built within a few years everybody will. think of it as part of the scenery in. Washington. Nobody will walk by and say, you know, it doesn't belong. It is the. same architectural style as the rest of. Washington. So, it will stand out for. its size, but not for its architecture. The one thing that I think is different. from the other monuments that have. caused consternation in Washington over. the years, and I think of not just the. World War II Memorial, but the very. modernist Vietnam War Memorial before.

that, is that those other monuments were. monuments to a group of people, people. who had sacrificed something. What's. slightly different about this is that. there's not like one set of people this. is designed to honor, or what set of. people who will come here and feel like, yes, I have my place in Washington that. I didn't have before. It's it's either. totally abstract, or it's about Trump. Okay, but, and this is a really big but, if we look all around us, left, right, front, back, there are monuments to. American presidents all around us. We've talked about Lincoln. We've talked.

about Washington. Over there to my left. is. Jefferson. So, in that context, why shouldn't. President Trump. get what we kind of understand to be a. memorial to himself, given how monumentally he has changed. American politics, American policy, how. the world thinks about America. Well, traditionally, we have not let. presidents build their own memorials. Traditionally, you have to leave office, there has to be some sort of intervening.

period in which Americans and American. history can judge your time in office. and decide whether you are worthy of. monumental tribute. Right, and have that. monument relate to the way we think of. you. Right, we don't give every. president There's not a Grover Cleveland. monument around here, right? We give. presidents that we decide are worthy of. emulation and adoration, we give them a. place here in Washington. And Trump has. decided to give himself that place, effectively, and that is very emblematic. of who he's been, all the ways he's. discarded the so-called rules of. politics, but also the real rules of.

Washington, and succeeded and put his. stamp on the country and the world. >> [music]. >> So, in that way, having Trump build his. own memorial is very fitting. That said, you can't seal your place in history and. trust that it will stay that way. American history will still render some. judgment on Trump. You can't just build. a monument and forestall that. Uh but he. is certainly trying to make sure that he. can't be forgotten. Oh David, thank you very much.

Thank you. >> [music]. >> After we spoke with David, congressional. Democrats introduced legislation seeking. to block [music] construction of the. arch. Their bill claims that the arch relies. on illegal use of public funds without. permission from Congress. The bill, which is considered a long. shot,

>> [music]. >> is co-sponsored by Representative Don. Beyer of Northern Virginia, whose. district includes Arlington National. Cemetery, and whose grandparents, parents, [music]. and sister are buried there. >> This is one of our country's most. hallowed spaces. >> In a video recorded [music] in front of. the cemetery, Beyer described the arch as an act of. desecration. >> Unfortunately, those of us who treasure. it are reckoning with a threat to the.

peace of this sacred place and to the. honor and trust it represents. A. towering 250-ft vanity project that. would overshadow the resting place of. our heroes and hide it from the view of. visitors to the National Mall and. Lincoln [music] Memorial. >> We'll be right back. Here's what else you need to know. [music] today. The future of President Trump's. controversial $1.8 billion [music] fund.

to compensate victims of government. weaponization is in growing doubt. [music]. after decisions on Friday from two. federal judges. One judge temporarily [music] barred the. fund from being set up, while another. reopened a legal case involving Trump. and the IRS, whose dismissal appeared to lead to the. fund's [music] creation. At the same time, aides to the president. are increasingly urging him to get. [music] rid of the fund amid intense.

blowback from both courts and from. Congress. >> [music]. >> And. a cornerstone of the president's plan to. celebrate America's 250th anniversary, a. series of musical concerts on the. National Mall starting later [music]. this month, is collapsing. Over the weekend, Trump called for the. music series to be canceled after at. least five of the nine performers. dropped out. Several of the singers.

[music] said they had originally. believed the event would be. non-partisan, only to learn later on. that it was being planned [music] and. overseen by the president himself. Today's [music] episode was produced by. Lexi Dio, Mo Zaidy, Diana Wynn, [music]. and Jack D'Isidoro. It was edited by Rob Zipko with help. from Liz O'Brien. and contains [music] music by Marion. Lozano, Roni Misto, Dan Powell, Brad.

Fisher, [music] and Leah Shaw Dameron. Our theme music is by Wonderly. This episode was engineered by Afi. Shapiro and Alyssa Moxley. >> [music]. >> That's it for The Daily. I'm Michael Barbaro. See you tomorrow.