Opinion: THE ARCH OF TRUMP...ARCH OF EGO

by: Linda Kirby/WGON 10.18.25

There’s a circle in Washington, D.C.—a place of intentional emptiness, waiting to be filled. And into that void, Donald Trump proposed an arch. Grand, gilded, modeled after triumph. He gives it a nicknamed the “Arc de Trump” or officially the “Independence Arch” When asked what this arch is for he said, “for me”.

Trump seems to be trying to fill more than just a void on the landscape of DC but a void in his heart. He has everything money can buy and he keeps gathering accolades for the littlest thing he does but that void is still there. But the truth is, we all have voids. Places in our lives we long to fill—with achievement, recognition, legacy. We build monuments to self, hoping they’ll satisfy the ache. Yet no arch, no accolade, no earthly glory can fill what was meant for the blood of Jesus.

Only Christ fills the void. Only His sacrifice turns emptiness into satiation..

Pride is the builder of most arches.

Not love of Jesus. Not even love of country.

But love of self.

We dress it in patriotism, legacy, achievement.

We call it honor. We call it history.

But when we boil it down, it’s self glorification.

The arches we build reveal the posture of our hearts.

Are we bowing low in remembrance, or reaching high to be worshiped?

Like the Tower of Babel? Pride.

Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image? Pride.

Herod’s voice of a god, not a man? Pride.

And pride always falls.

Is Trump marking what God has done—or quietly shifting the spotlight to himself as he builds glory over what God has done through him?

This arch is meant to celebrate the 250th birthday of our nation.

But true celebration begins with gratitude, not grandeur.

We should glorify God for America’s survival through wars, upheavals, and mercy—not elevate the pride of one man.

Humility should be the arch that is built on the foundation of God.

A mere stone passageway leads to nothing but a passage way built on God, leads to life.

Let our remembrance be rooted in gratitude, humility, and glory to God.

Let our celebration point to the One who sustained us.

Because only God deserves the glory for what endures. Not a mere man.

“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”

— Proverbs 16:18