Trump praises Vince Haley, his ex-speechwriter tasked with creating Arc de Triomphe knockoff amid affordability crisis<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amid concerns that he has failed to address a worsening affordability crisis, with health insurance premiums about to spike dramatically for over 20 million Americans, Donald Trump<\/a> revealed on Sunday that his domestic policy chief\u2019s main priority is building a triumphal arch for Washington DC<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking at a White House holiday party, the president praised Vince Haley, his former speechwriter and a longtime aide to Newt Gingrich<\/a> who now leads the White House Domestic Policy Council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cVince is unbelievable on policy,\u201d Trump said. \u201cAnd we have a policy thing that\u2019s going to be unbelievable happening.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The nature of that policy initiative might indeed be hard to believe for Americans struggling to make ends meet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI put Vince in charge of the triumphal arc,\u201d Trump said, using the French word for arch. \u201cWe\u2019re building an arc, like the Arc de Triumph,\u201d the president added, mixing English and French, in remarks shared on social media<\/a> by the White House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re building it by the Arlington Bridge, the Arlington cemetery, opposite the Lincoln Memorial. You could say Jefferson, Washington, everything, \u2018cause they\u2019re all right there,\u201d Trump continued, referring to prominent monuments in the nation\u2019s capital dedicated to three of his predecessors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd it\u2019s something that is so special. It will be like the one in Paris,\u201d Trump said, referring to the Arc de Triomphe, constructed between 1806 and 1836 at the western end of the Champs-\u00c9lys\u00e9es, honoring those who died fighting for France in the French revolutionary and Napoleonic wars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut to be honest with you,\u201d Trump said, the new arch Haley will be in charge of constructing will be much better than the one Napoleon Bonaparte ordered up. \u201cIt blows it away. Blows it away in every way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the president, his domestic policy chief was stunned by a model of the triumphal arch<\/a> the first time he saw it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cVince came in one day and his eyes were teeming,\u201d the president said, apparently reaching for the word \u201cbeaming\u201d in his memory and not finding it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI mean, he couldn\u2019t believe how beautiful it was. He saw it, and he wanted to do that,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s your primary thing,\u201d the president said to Haley. \u201cThere is nothing that can compete with that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Americans struggling<\/a> with<\/a> increased costs<\/a> due to<\/a> tariffs imposed<\/a> by Trump on imported goods \u2013 or those whose health insurance premiums are set to double or triple in the coming weeks \u2013 might disagree with the president\u2019s claim that the construction of an Arc de Triomphe knockoff should be the main focus of his chief domestic policy adviser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n