Carson Elm-Picard / MS NOW; Kevin Carter / Getty Images (2); National Park Service |
In a social media post Sunday, Trump announced a major update to the “triumphal arch” he intends to build in Washington. The president declared that the 250-foot structure will now also be a “top grade military complex” that launches drones and houses snipers on its roof. That’s quite a shift from previous design plans.
The surprise transformation of the proposed arch’s intended purpose is likely grounded less in military needs than in flailing legal stratagems. But combining a fixation on aesthetics with the threat of violence is nothing new for this president. Trump’s vision of a utopia has become inseparable from the tropes of dystopia as he works to transform America into a beautiful police state.
|
