President Trump announces plans for Trump Promenade behind the Lincoln Memorial
President Trump announced plans for the Trump Promenade behind the Lincoln Memorial to improve pedestrian access to the Potomac River.
President Donald Trump announced on June 4th at a White House event that he intends to build a boardwalk behind the Lincoln Memorial.
“They want to call it the Trump Promenade, and I don’t know if they want to, but I think it’s going to be beautiful,” Trump said.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the boardwalk, which would connect the back of the Lincoln Memorial to the Potomac River, was part of the McMillian Plan, an early 20th century plan for the National Mall.
He added that the proposed boardwalk footbridge would take visitors “right to the water’s edge.”
“Right now, it’s closed to pedestrians,” Burkum said. “People come from all over the world and they don’t know that there’s a beautiful Potomac River 100 meters away.”
The announced boardwalk is the latest in a series of construction projects undertaken by President Trump, an effort to reshape the look of the nation’s capital.
During the event, he touted a proposed 250-foot arch in the Memorial Avenue corridor, which prompted a lawsuit and public backlash.
President Trump said of the arch: “This is a real bow, a beautiful bow to the military and military victory.” “No one has achieved more military victories than us, including recently.”
He also demolished the East Wing of the White House to make room for a 90,000-square-foot ballroom.
Congress has not approved building the memorial arch on federal land managed by the National Park Service, but the nonprofit consumer advocacy group Public Citizen argues it is a legally required first step before the government moves forward with construction. President Trump also did not seek Congressional approval to begin construction on the banquet hall, a fact that is being challenged in court.
Contributor: Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA TODAY
