Macron scoffs at Trump arch rivalry: ‘Monuments are bigger than ourselves’

French President Emmanuel Macron brushed off the idea that President Donald Trump’s planned triumphal arch will rival the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.In an interview with ABC News’s David Muir, Macron was asked about Trump’s planned arch for Washington, D.C., which Trump has claimed will blow the Paris monument away “in every way.”Macron scoffed at the idea, however. “No, I mean, Paris would remain Paris, and the Arc de Triomphe would remain the Arc de Triomphe, with the history, with the style,” Macron said. “I have the feeling that these monuments are bigger than ourselves.”However, Macron said his relationship with Trump in his second term has remained strong, noting they can be “frank” with each other and occasionally disagree.“We have a very good personal relation, and he’s very energetic,” he said. “We disagree, but we have always been extremely frank to each other. I am always respectful.”The 250-foot triumphal arch, designed to sit between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery at the Memorial Circle on Columbia Island, has recently passed key regulatory reviews needed to begin construction. Building the structure requires a 20-hour-a-day work schedule over two to three years. The Arc de Triomphe took nearly 30 years to build before it was completed in 1836.EMMANUEL MACRON DECRIES ‘LAW OF THE JUNGLE’ IN CALL FOR GLOBAL COMMITMENT TO UNMore recently, Trump said the planned arch will now be a military complex to house drones and snipers, which has drawn the ire of senior House Appropriations Committee member Mike Simpson (R-ID), who opposed the idea of using defense money to fund the project.The Trump administration has not released a detailed breakdown of how the arch construction will be funded, but the National Endowment for the Humanities’s spending plan suggests a mix of federal and taxpayer dollars. Trump previously suggested that leftover, privately raised money from the White House ballroom could be used.