Trump’s obsession with slapping his name on the Kennedy Center has been a frequent news topic for a long time now. It’s bad enough he’s been fighting for equal billing on a memorial to a slain President. I’ve thought for a while that Trump is jealous of JFK (and Melania of Jackie) and he has reason to be. Still, given Trump’s other self-aggrandizing actions in DC one could argue The Kennedy Center was just another vanity project. No more. A defining characteristic at JFK’s burial site in Arlington is its Eternal Flame. So Trump wants one of his own, on HIS tacky-assed huge arch! Yes, I’d say it clear Trump suffers from JFK Envy Syndrome.
You’re probably read and heard more than you want to about that stupid arch. Let’s be clear, Trump has admitted that he sees it as a memorial to himself. Early on there was b.s. about it being broader themed but we all knew it was from the beginning Trump trying to create the ‘bigliest’ spectacle of a structure honoring Donald J. (as in Jagoff) Trump. The location chosen is specifically meant to block the view of the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument from Arlington National Cemetery, and the view of Arlington from the DC side of the river – visitors to the memorials I mentioned and those on the National Mall can currently see Arlington National Cemetery.
If you’ve never been to DC, especially flying into National Airport (and on the northern approach) you might not realize the issue of a 250 foot tall monstrosity rising up so close to the Potomac River which planes fly over. As this article from The Hill explains the original blueprints included red warning lights at certain points to give pilots visual clues to help them stay out over the river. The FAA conducted a ‘study’ and determined that wouldn’t be necessary. Is there anyone who thinks Sean Duffy didn’t get told to make sure those ‘ugly warning lights’ wouldn’t mar the look of the Trump Arch at night?
So visual cues pilots would ordinarily have were deemed unnecessary. Now lo and behold it seems Trumpty feels by golly they DO need a visual cue. (And let’s face it – passengers on the right side window seats too) the arch is very near the approach corridor. And, what better visual cue could there be other than an “Trump Eternal Flame?” Ten bucks says it will be huge, rising from a (golden of course) cauldron bigger than you’d see in an Olympic stadium. It would have to be to be noticed with the floodlights also being added to the project so the arch can be seen at night:
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Saturday that President Trump’s proposed Triumphal Arch in Washington, D.C., would require an “eternal flame” on top to alert nearby pilots.
“The FAA’s determination includes conditions for the Arch to be appropriately marked with a non-standard eternal flame on top of the structure and floodlight projectors pointed towards the Arch to make it noticeable for pilots,” an FAA spokesperson told The Hill.
The agency released a hazard study Friday that confirmed the Triumphal Arch “would not pose a hazard to aircraft” after a review by safety experts that examined “airspace, air traffic patterns and procedures around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, as well as operations at nearby military/public-use airports.”
Again, as noted in the linked article originally red obstruction lights (there’s one on top of the Washington Monument!) would be needed but now we’re being told no, they won’t be needed for Trump’s arch which is MUCH closer to any flight path into National Airport. So, I’m confused. If standard red lights (to mark obstructions) used everywhere in aviation aren’t needed then why does Trump’s arch need a BIG Eternal Flame to assist pilots in navigation? If only reporters would keep asking Trump himself that question. And follow it up with ‘Are you trying to compete with the Eternal Flame at the nearby JFK burial site?’
We all know the answer to that one. JFK’s burial site/memorial is truly memorable yet understated, blending in well with the overall cemetery as you can see from the title picture. Short hedges surround a grassy area that turns to white stone and the burial sites of JFK, Jackie and two of their children are under rough granite stones – with that small Eternal Flame. I shudder at the thought of what Trump will unveil to sit on top of his gaudy arch but we know it will be huge, and tacky/ugly as hell. But he’s boast of having a bigger Eternal Flame than JFK.
You’re damned right Trump is jealous of JFK. Kennedy was smarter (actually was at Harvard on merit rather than daddy making a donation to another Ivy League school), got HIS dad to bribe a doctor so he could serve in a war (WWII) instead of Trump getting daddy to bribe a podiatrist to get a 4-F (physically unfit for military service) rating during Vietnam, classier and better looking (that one particularly stings Trump’s ego) – you name it and Trump doesn’t measure up to JFK. Nor does Melania with Jackie. About the only thing Trump and JFK have in common is cheating on their spouses but at least JFK was discreet about it.
I don’t know how the obsession started. Maybe changing his home to Florida and hearing people at Mar A Lago make fun of Ron and Casey DeSantis’ fail trying to assume the mantle of ‘the new Jack and Jackie’ got Trump’s competitive juices flowing. As in he’d show DeSantis how it’s done. But as much as we talk about Trump’s Obama envy it looks like JFK now lives in the space in Trump’s head that used to be occupied by Obama. Remember, this didn’t start with The Kennedy Center. Nope. Melania (with Trump’s approval) ruined the iconic Rose Garden Jackie Kennedy created. Trump finished off the ruination by turning into a Mar A Lago patio with the only thing missing being a pool with bikini clad babes (and Alina Habba) around it.
If I’m not mistaken Trump didn’t even go to the Kennedy Center a single time during his first term but the outcry over him and Melania erasing the old version of the Rose Garden got him to thinking of bigger things which led to his takeover of the Kennedy Center and attempted rebranding. Trump is determined not only to have his own name on the building but to have a memorial to HIM on the Kennedy Center grounds despite the fact it would take an act of Congress to legally do either.
Now he wants a Trump Eternal Flame. (And he will call it that eventually) Not just any Eternal Flame but one WAY bigger than Kennedy’s. JFK’s can only be seen by standing there at the burial site. Trump wants HIS to be visible from everywhere in Arlington (he’d order trees cut down!) and even across the river from DC. If Jack and Jackie Kennedy were to appear in Trump’s dreams it’s easy to imagine them not saying a word, but just flipping him off…
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