In Reply to: Speaking of low water levels ... posted by mh on August 01, 2026 at 12:44:35
President Donald Trump's obsession with memorializing himself often spurs strange outbursts to world leaders about arches, a New York Times journalist revealed Friday.
The 80-year-old president spends most of his time focused on personal retribution and renovating Washington, D.C., to his own preferences, according to New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman, who told her colleague Ezra Klein.
"This I will say about getting into his mind: Seventy percent of it would be on his renovations," Haberman said. "It’s a legacy thing... It’s, 'What am I leaving behind so the world can’t kick me off the world — or deplatform me or take my name off buildings in Manhattan or take away my Bronx leased golf course?'"
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In another meeting, Trump called up French President Emmanuel Macron to pepper him with bizarre questions about a major monument he intends to build in Washington, Haberman said.
"He calls French President Emmanuel Macron in the middle of another meeting and starts asking him about the Arc de Triomphe in France, asking, 'What’s it like,' and, 'Does it have a visitor’s desk? Do people jump off it?'" Haberman added.