ARCH ENEMIES

Trump’s D.C. Makeover Obsession Gets Brutal Reality Check

Nobody, not even Republicans, wants this.

Donald Trump’s dream of shaping Washington, D.C. in his image is deeply unpopular with the American public.

Not even a majority of Republican voters think the president should be spending his time on monuments to his own presidency, a poll found.

A Reuters/Ipsos report published in the days after the Republican Party’s crushing midterm defeat showed that Trump’s approval remained stuck at a near-historic low of just 32 percent, while earlier surveys found his pet projects were also deeply unpopular.

Sixty-seven percent of Americans said making new and renovated D.C. monuments a priority was either inappropriate or a low priority.

In even worse news for the legacy-obsessed Trump, 50 percent of Republicans felt the same way.

Since regaining the White House in 2025, Trump has moved to aggressively remake the building and its surroundings in his image.

His behemoth new ballroom, under construction where the East Wing of the White House once stood, is perhaps the most visible of the “improvements” Trump has undertaken.

However, his attempts to add his name to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts have been repeatedly stalled by the courts, and the dispute has led the Trump-friendly board to close the venue for years for a $257 million renovation.

Trump’s desire to see his own name above Kennedy’s is particularly unpopular, even among his own supporters.

Fifty-three percent of Republicans said Trump shouldn’t add his name to the Kennedy Center, and 64 percent said it’s wrong for the president to “withhold funds” from the center until he gets his way.

Republicans were split down the middle on the idea of a sitting president naming a federal building after himself, with 50 percent disapproving.

Trump’s aggressive renovation campaign has landed the administration in court over a range of D.C. projects. Aside from the ballroom and the Kennedy Center, Trump has declared his intention to build a towering arch and remake a public golf course to his own specifications.

The Kennedy family has united in a legal challenge against the administration over the arch, saying it casts a shadow over JFK’s grave.

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In the days since the Republicans’ crushing midterm defeat, Trump has sought refuge in his renovations. Critics have accused him of fixating on his Washington makeover projects while Americans grapple with rising living costs, including those driven by his ongoing war with Iran.

Just two days after the election, he issued an executive order he said would prevent future occupants from making any changes to his gaudy new additions to the Oval Office.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Sarah-Jane CollinsReporter

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