1 February—Last October, at a press briefing in the Oval Office, when Donald Trump displayed a model of what his flunkies call the Independence Arch, CBS News reporter Ed O’Keefe asked Trump if it would be called the Arc de Trump. Of course Trump liked O’Keefe’s suggestion, implying that what he envisioned as “the biggest one of all” would indeed be a monument to himself. So what else is new?

Pharaohs, kings, emperors, dictators, and tyrants of all degrees from the dawn of civilization have built monuments to themselves. But, to be honest, haven’t we all—and not just in physical structures? Haven’t we all tried, at any rate?

So it’s a question of scale and taste. As for scale, there’s no question that Trump’s narcissistic ego has always gone for the superlative—“the biggest one of all.” As for taste, there’s no question that Trump’s is in his mouth—if even there.

Back to the Arc de Trump, then, Donald Trump’s total lack of taste is evident in his abuse of scale. There’s his unneeded and inappropriate White House ballroom which dwarfs the White House, for instance. And even though a 250-foot-high Arc de Trump would dwarf the nearby Lincoln Memorial, that’s the size he prefers, rather than the two smaller options—because “I’d like it to be the biggest one of all,” as well, of course, as “the most beautiful in the world,” as Trump told reporters last night.

White House flunky Davis Ingle gushed: “The Arch is going to be one of the most iconic landmarks not only in Washington, D.C., but throughout the world. President Trump’s bold vision will be imprinted upon the fabric of America and be felt by generations to come. His successes will continue to give the greatest Nation on earth—America—the glory it deserves.”

(That Davis Ingle thought it necessary to remind us that the greatest Nation [his capitalization] is America can be construed as rather disturbing. But we won’t delve into his insecurity.)

Evidently the Arc de Trump is intended to be festooned with a central sculpture of Lady Liberty (conspicuously gilded, of course, and clearly out of proportion with the arch) flanked by a pair of bald eagles, the predatory opportunistic raptors that Trump clearly identifies with. Is it serendipitous, then, or intentional that in the stylized sketches the alleged eagles appear to be hands with the middle fingers extended. Talk about flipping the bird to America . . .