Retired Gen. Hertling calls Trump’s 250-ft. Arlington arch ‘ludicrous’ military site
Source: MS NOW · All MS NOW reports
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Summary
The MS NOW segment features retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling and panelists discussing President Trump’s proposed 250-foot triumphal arch at Memorial Circle near Arlington National Cemetery. They critique Trump’s recent claim that the arch will serve as a ‘top-grade military complex’ for drones, snipers, and ammunition storage under a national-security justification, calling it implausible and a ‘vanity project.’ The discussion covers legal challenges from veterans, potential protests, impacts on historic views and traffic, and parallels to Trump’s East Wing demolition for a ballroom and disputes over the Kennedy Center.
Sourcing relies on the general’s military expertise, a New York Times correspondent citing Democratic lawmakers and polls, and on-air graphics of the site. Guests include legal analyst Katherine Christian and Puck/NYT’s Leanne Caldwell; the throughline is that the project reflects personal fixation amid declining approval ratings and economic concerns ahead of midterms.
Editorial Assessment
The broadcast accurately conveys widespread opposition from veterans, preservationists, and the National Park Service assessment that the arch would irreparably alter historic sightlines between the Lincoln Memorial, Arlington House, and the cemetery. Hertling’s assessment that no senior uniformed officer would endorse it as a sniper/drone platform aligns with the absence of Pentagon endorsement for the sudden military reframing. Viewers miss the administration’s stated intent to fulfill a century-old design concept for columns at the site and commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary, as well as the FAA’s determination that the structure poses no aviation hazard. The Napoleon analogy and repeated ‘vanity’/‘dumb’ characterizations tilt the framing toward personal ridicule rather than policy debate. Economic polling data presented is broadly corroborated by recent surveys showing Trump’s approval in the low 30s amid inflation and the Iran conflict, but the causal link to the arch project is speculative. Overall, the segment reinforces skepticism of the project but does so through one-sided sourcing and loaded language that could skew perceptions of the dispute as purely ego-driven rather than a contested historic-preservation and land-use issue.
Key Moments
No person in uniform of significant rank would want the arch as a sniper platform or drone launch facility; it would become an easy target and is ludicrous.
Hertling, a retired lieutenant general and former commander of U.S. Army Europe, offers expert military judgment consistent with lack of public Pentagon endorsement of Trump’s Sept. 20, 2026 Truth Social post reframing the arch as a military complex.
Trump initially said the arch was ‘for me’; he later switched to national security after a lawsuit, just as with the ballroom.
Trump told reporters in 2025 the arch was for him; his Sept. 20, 2026 post cites ‘strong request of the U.S. military’ and national security; similar pattern alleged for the East Wing ballroom project upheld on national-security grounds by courts.
The arch would block views of Arlington House (Custis-Lee Mansion) from the Lincoln Memorial, interfere with caisson processions, and overlook sacred ground.
Multiple NPS and preservation reports, plus veterans’ lawsuit, document that the 250-ft. structure would interrupt the symbolic reunification vista and views from Kennedy gravesite and the cemetery.
Trump’s approval has fallen to 29% in new ARG poll; nearly half say finances worse, one in five cannot cover basic expenses.
American Research Group poll released Sept. 21, 2026 showed 29% approval; Reuters/Ipsos found 32%; economic pessimism figures track with contemporaneous reporting on inflation and Iran war effects.
Arches like the Arc de Triomphe celebrate conquering heroes or dictators; Napoleon’s did not turn out well.
The historical analogy is interpretive; the Arc de Triomphe commemorates French Revolutionary and Napoleonic armies broadly, not solely conquest; administration frames its arch as honoring U.S. independence and veterans, not personal triumph.
Notable Concerns
- Heavy reliance on anonymous or partisan sources for political fallout claims while dismissing the national-security argument without Pentagon documentation
- Omission of the project’s origins in 1920s bridge plans and its framing as a 250th-anniversary monument
- Use of historical analogy (Napoleon, conquering dictators) that implies authoritarian intent without direct evidence
Sources Consulted
- Trump says planned 250-foot arch will be ‘military complex’ for drones, snipers
- Park Service Steamrolls Through Review of Trump’s Arch
- Trump says he agreed to convert triumphal arch into 'top grade Military Complex'
- Vietnam veterans seek restraining order to block Trump's triumphal arch
- Donald Trump’s Approval Rating Falls Below 30% For First Time Ever
- Trump’s arch would block Lincoln Memorial, Arlington Cemetery view
- Trump’s Ballroom Project Claims 123-Year-Old East Wing
- AP photos show White House East Wing demolished