Trump’s classical monumentism exposes neocolonial nostalgia: How elite architecture reinforces authoritarian spectacle over civic memory

Indigenous perspectives universally reject monumentality as a tool of state power, viewing classical architecture as a colonial imposition that erases sacred landscapes and indigenous histories. The proposed 'Arc de Trump' would further desecrate land already scarred by settler-colonial violence, as Washington, D.C. was built on the ancestral territories of the Nacotchtank (Anacostan) people, forcibly removed in the 17th century. Indigenous critiques of monument culture emphasize relationality—land as kin rather than property—and see such structures as material manifestations of extractive epistemologies that prioritize stone over living memory.

The 'Arc de Trump' is part of a 2,000-year lineage of authoritarian monumentalism, from Augustus’ Ara Pacis to Hitler’s planned Volkshalle, where rulers use classical grandeur to legitimize power through aesthetic association. Washington’s neoclassical core—designed by enslaved laborers and funded by slave-owning elites—was itself a propaganda project to naturalize white supremacy and imperial expansion. Trump’s proposal mirrors Mussolini’s EUR district in Rome, where fascist architecture repurposed classical forms to manufacture historical continuity, or Mobutu’s 'Zaïrianization' of colonial monuments to erase Belgian rule while maintaining authoritarian control.

Across cultures, monumentality is rarely neutral: in Japan, the Yasukuni Shrine’s enshrinement of war criminals sparks regional tensions, while in South Africa, colonial-era statues like Rhodes Must Fall are sites of ongoing decolonial struggle. The 'Arc de Trump' would join a global pattern where autocrats deploy classical imagery to evoke imperial nostalgia, as seen in Putin’s restoration of Catherine the Great’s monuments or Erdogan’s reconstruction of Ottoman-era projects. In contrast, many Indigenous and Afro-diasporic communities practice 'unmonumenting'—removing statues or replacing them with living memorials that center collective healing rather than state glorification.

Neoclassical architecture’s association with democracy is a myth: research in environmental psychology shows that grand classical facades trigger submissive responses in viewers, reinforcing hierarchical power dynamics (Mehrabian, 1978). The 'Arc de Trump' would likely increase civic alienation, as studies on monument perception indicate that oversized, authoritarian symbols reduce public engagement with public space (Nasar, 1998). Additionally, the carbon footprint of such projects—from marble quarrying to urban disruption—contradicts climate imperatives, as neoclassical monuments are among the least sustainable civic structures.

Artistic traditions often resist monumentalism as a form of death worship, preferring ephemeral or participatory art that honors cyclical time over linear grandeur. In West African traditions, for example, ancestral veneration is practiced through rituals and oral histories rather than static stone, while in Buddhist cultures, stupas are designed to dissolve into the landscape rather than dominate it. The 'Arc de Trump' would embody a materialist spirituality that equates permanence with power, contradicting Indigenous and Eastern philosophies that see impermanence as the essence of life.

If realized, the 'Arc de Trump' could accelerate a global trend of 'spectacle monuments'—oversized authoritarian symbols designed to distract from policy failures, as seen in North Korea’s Ryugyong Hotel or Kazakhstan’s Khan Shatyr. Such projects often become white elephants, draining public resources while failing to address underlying crises like housing or climate adaptation. Future scenarios suggest that cities may increasingly adopt 'anti-monument' policies, replacing statues with adaptive reuse projects (e.g., turning abandoned malls into community hubs) or 'living monuments' that evolve with public input.

Marginalized communities—particularly Black, Indigenous, and low-income residents—have long opposed Washington’s neoclassical landscape as a symbol of their exclusion, from the enslaved builders of the Capitol to the displacement of Black communities for the National Mall. The 'Arc de Trump' would further entrench this exclusion, as its siting and design would likely prioritize vehicular access over pedestrian needs, mirroring the carceral urbanism of Robert Moses. Grassroots movements like #DisruptMonuments or the Monument Lab in Philadelphia center these voices, advocating for monuments that reflect collective trauma and resilience rather than state glorification.