The United States is the only country out of 59 that does not have a triumphal arc.
Posted by Badlands Media, Checked
- Sources
- 3 contradict1 support3 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 50%
Badlands MediaOct 15, 2026
The sources support a narrower version of the claim: Washington, D.C. has no triumphal arch, and Politifact reports Trump said D.C. was the only major capital without one. The broader claim that the US is the only country out of 59 without a triumphal arch is not supported.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… You know, it's called a, it's one of the most beautiful things they have at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France. We have the biggest, best version you've ever seen. It's called the triumphal arc, and it celebrates a country's victories. And we're the only country out of 59 that doesn't have one, and we have the site, and it's been waiting there for 200 years. 200 years, they never got it off, but I get everything off. That's what I do. And I want to see if I can get it built before we leave, and it's beautiful. It's more beautiful, the most beautiful one is the one in Paris, the Arc de Triomphe. …
Badlands Media · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. HuffPost notes there are a small number of monumental arches in the United States, including the Washington Square Arch and the Soldiers' and Sailors' Arch in Brooklyn, and CNBC describes the Gateway Arch in St. Louis as the tallest arch in the world. This undercuts the claim that the US has none, though these are commemorative rather than triumphal.[2][3][4]
Supports. HuffPost reports that Washington D.C. does not have a triumphal arch, and that the Trump proposal would be far larger than the existing US arches.[2]
Supports. Politifact reports Trump said Washington was the only major capital without a triumphal arch, citing Paris, Rome and London.[1]
Context. No source verifies the count of 59 countries or surveys which countries have triumphal arches, so the 'only one out of 59' figure is unsupported.[5][6][7]
Sources
7 sources: 1 fact-checker, 1 tier 2, 5 not rated
- 1How Trump changed his DC arch into a ‘military complex’politifact.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 2Architecture Experts Rip Into Trump's 'Atrocious' Triumphal Arch — And They Don't Hold Backhuffpost.com · tier 2 · cited for: contradicts, supports
- 3Triumph in stone and steel: Monumental arches around the ...cnbctv18.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 4Triumphal arch | Architecture | Research Starters - EBSCOebsco.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 5List of post-Roman triumphal arches - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org · not rated · cited for: context
- 6Triumphal / monumental arches from around the world | Structuraestructurae.net · not rated · cited for: context
- 7Category:Triumphal arches by country - Wikimedia Commonscommons.wikimedia.org · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
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