{"id":799580,"date":"2026-05-16T02:31:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T02:31:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/799580\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T02:31:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T02:31:19","slug":"trump-says-new-sculpture-garden-honoring-250-prominent-americans-will-rise-along-the-potomac-river","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/799580\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump says new sculpture garden honoring 250 prominent Americans will rise along the Potomac River"},"content":{"rendered":"

President Donald Trump plans to build an exhibit of statues featuring prominent Americans in a tightly regulated park along the Potomac River. <\/p>\n

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Trump<\/strong> President Donald Trump speaks as he visits the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to see the new blue protective coating being applied as part of a renovation project, Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Washington, as White House boarder czar Tom Homan and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin listen. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein) <\/p>\n

\n AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein <\/p>\n

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East Potomac Golf Course<\/strong> The Washington Monument stands in the background as a golfer walks the East Potomac Golf Course, Sunday, May 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) <\/p>\n

\n AP Photo\/Julia Demaree Nikhinson <\/p>\n

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APTOPIX Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool<\/strong> Workers apply a blue protective coating as part of a renovation project to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Tuesday, May 12, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo\/Rahmat Gul) <\/p>\n

\n AP Photo\/Rahmat Gul <\/p>\n

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Kennedy Center<\/strong> The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is seen following a media tour intended to show building damage, Wednesday, April 22, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) <\/p>\n

\n AP Photo\/Julia Demaree Nikhinson <\/p>\n

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Trump Triumphal Arch<\/strong> Flags placed by workers are pictured in the Memorial Circle, where President Donald Trump has proposed building an arch to commemorate the United States’ 250th anniversary, Friday, May 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Jacquelyn Martin) <\/p>\n

\n AP Photo\/Jacquelyn Martin <\/p>\n

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Lincoln Memorial Refelcting Pool<\/strong> Workers apply a blue protective coating as part of a renovation project to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Friday, May 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Jacquelyn Martin) <\/p>\n

\n AP Photo\/Jacquelyn Martin <\/p>\n

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump<\/a> plans to build an exhibit of statues featuring prominent Americans in a tightly regulated park along the Potomac River, potentially opening a new legal fight over whether his administration is ignoring the approvals process that typically governs Washington\u2019s monumental core as he muscles through a dramatic overhaul<\/a> of the nation\u2019s capital.<\/p>\n

In a Friday morning social media post, Trump said the National Garden of American Heroes would be built in West Potomac Park, a space near the National Mall that includes the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. The area is also home to several fields and volleyball courts regularly used by local sports groups.<\/p>\n

Trump described the area in his post as a \u201ctotally BARREN field of Prime Waterfront Real Estate along our Mighty Potomac River.\u201d<\/p>\n

The president has said the garden would commemorate America\u2019s 250th anniversary<\/a> with sculptures recognizing 250 prominent Americans who have made significant cultural, political and other historical contributions to the country. He first raised the idea during Fourth of July celebrations in 2020 and has framed it as a response to protests that resulted in the removal of controversial monuments, including those that commemorated slave owners and Confederate leaders.<\/p>\n

In the final days of his first term, Trump, a Republican, signed an executive order naming 244 people including Ronald Reagan<\/a> and Jackie Robinson<\/a> who should be honored with statues in the garden. The idea languished under President Joe Biden<\/a>, a Democrat, but Congress provided $40 million under Trump\u2019s big tax and spending cuts law last year to procure the statues included in his executive orders.<\/p>\n

That may not be enough, however, to constitute the type of approval typically needed for major projects on or near the National Mall. Federal law requires projects and memorials to get a sign-off from multiple design and planning groups.<\/p>\n

White House spokesman Davis Ingle said the garden will \u201c be built to reflect the awesome splendor of our country\u2019s timeless exceptionalism.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Trump continues to beautify and honor our Nation\u2019s Capital during America\u2019s historic semiquincentennial celebration,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t comment on whether the administration was seeking the relevant approvals or had already awarded contracts for the statues.<\/p>\n

Washington\u2019s monumental core is one of the nation\u2019s most closely regulated spaces, with the goal of protecting sightlines and preventing new construction that would undermine the area\u2019s historic character. Between the approvals process, design disputes and funding challenges, changes in the area can take years \u2014 or even decades \u2014 to reach completion. One of the newest additions near the National Mall, the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial, took 21 years to finish after Congress initially approved it in 1999.<\/p>\n

Trump and his supporters have shown little interest in following such procedures. He moved quickly this month to drain and repaint the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool<\/a>. He suddenly demolished the East Wing<\/a> of the White House last year to build a ballroom. Trump\u2019s name has been added to the facade of the Kennedy Center<\/a>, which he plans to close later this summer for a two-year renovation.<\/p>\n

Just this week, workers began preliminary surveys<\/a> and testing of the proposed site of a triumphal arch<\/a> that Trump is seeking between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. Part of the site was fenced off, and pink flags typically used as survey markings were planted in the grass.<\/p>\n

And the Trump administration is moving forward with plans to transform East Potomac Park from an accessible public golf course into what Trump has described as a \u201cU.S. Open-caliber course.\u201d Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on Thursday released a design plan for the new course that he said would provide \u201cchampionship-quality golf at affordable, highly discounted rates.\u201d<\/p>\n

The plan provided few details on how the park, which is frequently used by local runners and bikers, would remain open to the general public.<\/p>\n

Virtually all of the projects have become subject to litigation.<\/p>\n

Copyright
\n \u00a9\u00a02026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"President Donald Trump plans to build an exhibit of statues featuring prominent Americans in a tightly regulated park…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":799581,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[648,1032,1033,171,325841,243040,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-799580","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-design","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-national-garden-of-american-heroes","13":"tag-potomac-river","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-unitedstates","16":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116581912144259618","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/799580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=799580"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/799580\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/799581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=799580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=799580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=799580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}