The president is planning for two nearly 100-foot-tall flagpoles on the iconic north and south lawns.
WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump announced on April 23 that he intends to pay out of his own pocket to install massive American flags on the north and south lawns of the White House.
“We’re putting up a beautiful, almost 100-foot-tall American flag on this side and another one on the other side. Two flags, top of the line,” Trump told reporters during an impromptu press gathering after touring the lawn.
“So, we’re putting one right where you saw us, and we’re putting another one on the other side, on top of the mounds. It’s going to be two beautiful poles.”
He was seen walking with Dale Haney, chief White House groundskeeper, a handful of aides, and surrounded by Secret Service agents while surveying the North Lawn on April 23 for sites to build a flagpole.
Agents cleared the street in front of the grounds and blocked off Lafayette Park nearby to safeguard the president while the group reviewed the site.
Trump said the upgrades are a long time coming, with the only existing sites for flags on the rooftop of the executive mansion.
“They’ve needed flagpoles for 200 years,” Trump said. “It was something I’ve often said. You know, they don’t have a flagpole, per se.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters later in the day that Trump is a hands-on leader with a keen eye for property management.
“The president is a real estate developer at heart, and he’s always looking for ways to improve the White House complex, not for him, but for future generations, for future presidents,” she said.
“He has some fun ideas for this complex, which we’ve kept you all apprised of, as they have happened and will continue to do.
“So, you can expect to look up, I think, quite soon, and see a very big, beautiful American flag, perhaps on the North Lawn and the South Lawn.”
No further details were provided regarding the dimensions of the flags or when construction could begin.
The president has embraced the Star-Spangled Banner throughout his presidential campaigns and while serving as the nation’s leader.
Pictures from the campaign trail show the flag displayed prominently on stage and around venues.
An extra-large Old Glory was flying overhead in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13 of last year and was captured in iconic images of Trump moments after a would-be assassin took shots at the then-presidential candidate.
Trump is no stranger to super-sized Stars and Stripes, having installed a 15-foot-tall by 25-foot-long American flag at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach in 2006.
Local elected officials complained about the installation, arguing that no permits were issued and that construction of the 80-foot-tall flagpole was in violation of local ordinances that limited poles to 42 feet and flags to four by six feet in size.
Their argument was rejected by Trump at the time.
“The day you need a permit to put up the American flag, that will be a sad day for this country,” he said.
Trump battled local lawmakers over the flag before suing Palm Beach for $10 million, then upping the damage claim to $25 million.
He alleged that the city was infringing on his constitutional right to free speech and argued that any flag smaller than what he had flying would not appropriately reflect Mar-a-Lago’s patriotism.
The city responded with $120,000 in penalties, though both sides agreed to a settlement that saw Trump donate $100,000 to local veterans’ groups in lieu of fines.