The psychology behind Trump’s obsession with DC renovations

The White House campus, including a new helipad on the South Lawn and President Donald Trump ballroom that’s under construction, are seen from above on September 21, 2026. | Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images Since President Donald Trump returned to office, he has moved aggressively to leave his mark.

Many of his most visible legacy projects are not pieces of legislation, though.

They’re part of a campaign to reshape Washington, DC, itself.

Last year, Trump knocked down the East Wing of the White House to make way for his massive new ballroom.

He tried renovating the Reflecting Pool, which did not turn out well.

He regilded four large statues near the National Mall, paved the White House Rose Garden, and drenched the Oval Office in gold and golden appliqués.

Other Trump plans are still in the works: He’s proposed building a 250-foot triumphal arch in a traffic circle between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery, just across the Potomac River.

He now says the arch would double as a “military complex,” housing drones, snipers, and ammunition.

And, of course, there’s the ongoing fight over the Kennedy Center , which Trump has threatened could be “ripped down” if he doesn’t get his name on the building in some capacity (he already tried once, and was ordered by a court to remove it).

It’s all a lot to keep track of.

Luckily, Today, Explained co-host Sean Rameswaram spoke with New York magazine’s Ben Terris, who recently spent time with Trump touring the ballroom construction site .

Terris explains what ties all the disparate projects together and what they reveal about the Trump’s effort to reshape the nation’s capital — and his own legacy.

Below is an excerpt of the conversation, edited for length and clarity.

There’s much more in the full podcast, so listen to Today, Explained wherever you get podcasts, including Apple Podcasts , Pandora , and Spotify .