Belgrade’s cityscape may soon be transformed by a glittering new landmark, but the planned arrival of Trump Tower Belgrade has ignited a fierce debate that’s reverberating far beyond Serbia’s borders. The project, promoted on the website trumpbelgrade.com as “Unrivaled Luxury,” is slated to include a hotel bearing the Trump name and a sprawling complex of 1,500 apartments, all to be constructed on the site of the former Yugoslav Army General Staff headquarters—a socialist-era landmark partly destroyed during NATO airstrikes in 1999.
According to The Art Newspaper, this building, known locally as Generalštab, is not just any ruin. Designed by the renowned Serbian architect Nikola Dobrović and completed in 1965, it’s described by heritage groups as “a European masterpiece of Modernist architecture” and holds the status of a cultural monument of national importance. Its fate has become a flashpoint for controversy, with critics arguing that replacing it with a Trump-branded high-rise would erase a significant piece of Serbia’s architectural and historical legacy.
The controversy reached a fever pitch in November 2025, when the Serbian government adopted a so-called lex specialis—a special law declaring the redevelopment of the Generalštab site a project of strategic national importance. As reported by Nova.rs and The Art Newspaper, this law, passed by a vote of 130-40 in parliament, obliges all state bodies to lift the protections that had shielded the building as a cultural heritage site, effectively clearing the way for demolition and new construction. Pre-sales for the Trump Tower apartments were reportedly planned to begin in the summer of 2025, signaling the government’s eagerness to move forward.
But the plan has met with stiff resistance. The Union of Architects of Serbia (UAS) fired off an open letter to Jared Kushner—Donald Trump’s son-in-law and the founder of the investment firm behind the project—claiming that the demolition would “constitute unambiguous breaches to the Serbian constitution, at least four national laws, and a series of international commitments.” The architects warned Kushner that the project was “destined to become a liability and a reputational burden to its investors.”
The UAS further argued, in a detailed report, that contrary to what they called a “widespread misunderstanding,” the Generalštab complex “is not a ruin” and remains protected by law. Their concerns echo those of four international heritage organizations—Europa Nostra, the International Council on Monuments and Sites, Docomomo International, and The Architects’ Council of Europe—which issued a joint statement on November 4 expressing “deep concern and firm opposition” to the special law. They contended the legislation was designed to “enable the demolition” of a legally protected architectural masterpiece.
On the ground in Belgrade, the opposition has been just as vocal. Student groups and civic activists staged protests in front of the Generalštab complex, including a mass rally on November 11. The protests, as reported by Nova.rs, reflect widespread public unease with the idea of a Trump-branded skyscraper rising on a site many Serbians see as a symbol of national trauma, given its destruction during the 1999 NATO bombing campaign.
President Aleksandar Vučić, however, has thrown his weight behind the project, calling it a “huge investment” that would attract tourists and “raise the value of everything in Belgrade.” According to The Art Newspaper, Vučić’s administration has made the project a national priority, with the special law obliging public authorities to “take all necessary measures” for its “timely” implementation. The move is widely seen as an effort by Vučić to curry favor with President Trump, even as he faces massive protests at home.
The Trump Organization, for its part, has denied any conflict of interest involving Donald Trump or his family. Responding to media inquiries, spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt said, “The media’s efforts to fabricate a conflict of interest are irresponsible and further erode the public’s trust in what they read.” She insisted that neither Trump nor his family are engaging “or ever will engage” in a conflict of interest. The Trump Organization itself did not respond to requests for further comment.
Yet the Belgrade project is just one piece of a much larger puzzle. As Axios and Nova.rs have reported, the Trump Organization is currently pursuing more international deals than ever before, with projects underway or planned in Dubai, Vietnam, Bali, Romania, and beyond. A Wall Street Journal analysis found that Trump’s business empire is more globally active in 2025 than during his first presidential term. The organization lists ten projects in eight countries as “coming soon,” while a list compiled by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) shows a total of 22 foreign projects in development, with another ten already in operation.
The intertwining of Trump’s business interests and foreign policy has raised eyebrows worldwide. In Vietnam, for example, work began earlier this year on a massive Trump-branded hotel and golf complex outside Hanoi, even though legal and environmental due diligence was incomplete. According to a New York Times investigation cited by Nova.rs, Vietnamese officials justified the project by noting it “receives special attention from the Trump administration and President Donald Trump himself.” The groundbreaking ceremony in May was attended by Vietnam’s prime minister and Eric Trump, but a dispute with local farmers over compensation has since slowed development, Bloomberg reported.
Romania is also in the Trump Organization’s sights. The company has announced a partnership with SDC Lmobilare to develop Trump Tower Bucharest in the very heart of the Romanian capital. While the project is being marketed as the Trump brand’s first foray into Romania and a showcase for luxury urban living, key technical details—including the number of residential units and construction timelines—remain under wraps as of late November 2025.
Meanwhile, Trump’s personal fortune has ballooned since he first took office. Forbes estimated in September that his wealth has grown by about $3 billion—a 70% increase—largely thanks to investments in cryptocurrencies rather than real estate. Nevertheless, the global expansion of the Trump Organization continues apace, with investment funds backed by Gulf countries and royal families reportedly putting money into both Kushner’s investment fund and the Trump family’s crypto project. These same countries—the UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia—have also inked major deals with the Trump administration for AI chips and weapons.
Back in Serbia, the fate of the Generalštab complex remains uncertain. The Public Prosecution Office for Organised Crime is reportedly investigating a failed attempt in November 2024 by the government to remove the building from the country’s Central Heritage Registry—a move that would have paved the way for its demolition even before the passage of the special law.
As the legal, political, and cultural battles rage on, the future of Trump Tower Belgrade stands as a symbol of the complex intersection between business, politics, and national identity in a rapidly changing world. Whether the project will ultimately go ahead—or whether Serbia’s architectural heritage will prevail—remains to be seen, but for now, the debate shows no signs of cooling off.