WASHINGTON – Thousands gathered outside the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Friday evening to oppose President Donald Trump’s plans for the venue. Their protest added to mounting alarm among arts organizations and supporters that Trump could follow through on threats to close and demolish the historic institution.
People poured in from the nearest Metro station, filling streets in Washington’s Foggy Bottom neighborhood and bringing traffic to a standstill as they marched with signs for “Hands Around the Kennedy Center.” At one point, demonstrators linked hands and created a human chain around the performing arts complex.
Chris Raleigh, co-founder of Hands Off the Arts, the group that organized the rally, said he hoped the turnout would make clear that the public is prepared to push back against Trump’s plans for the building.
One of the best-known landmarks along the Potomac River, the Kennedy Center has been central to Trump’s reshaping of Washington since 2025, when he began placing allies on its governing board. Late last year, Trump had his name added to the center. A judge later ruled that the addition was illegal and ordered his name removed.
The Kennedy Center board, which is aligned with the president, voted Tuesday to shut the facility indefinitely for repairs. The vote came hours after U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper blocked efforts to restore Trump’s name to the building. On Thursday, Cooper ordered the Kennedy Center to give 30 days’ notice before undertaking major physical changes, including any demolition.
Raleigh said he shares concerns that Trump could act without first notifying the court. “Look at the East Wing,” he said. “We got up one morning and there was a giant hole there.”
Still, Raleigh said the Kennedy Center has a higher public profile than the East Wing did. He said he does not think the president fully grasps why the prospect of closing or tearing down the arts institution has provoked such anger. “But that’s our job right? This may be the line that no one expected but this is where the line is going to be.”
A landmark of the performing arts has gone silent
At the rally, protesters spoke of the Kennedy Center’s standing as a cornerstone of American performing arts and a leading national cultural venue.
Bud Wilkinson, a local member of the arts community, brought a chalkboard covered with Trump’s name written hundreds of times. Demonstrators gathered around it, erasing the names and replacing them with hearts.
“The Kennedy Center is vital to the arts in Washington. We need it. We need this,” Wilkinson said. “This is not just about putting the president’s name on the Kennedy Center. It’s about censoring the performances and the programming. That’s what started all this. So that’s what the nitty-gritty really is about this. So I want to replace all of this with love. That’s why there’s a heart.”
Alina Baciu talked about the opportunities and relationships that students at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts have with the center and how those relationships might be impacted by what’s going on.
Her daughter had numerous opportunities to take advantage of all the center had to offer as a student at Duke Ellington, she said. “I mean, they borrowed the beautiful costumes and the beautiful dresses from the Washington National Opera for their performances at Duke Ellington,” she said. They also performed on the center’s Millennium Stage.
“All of those things have gone away because of this craziness. And it just hurts my heart,” Baciu said.
Laura Steinberg, a volunteer for the last 10 years, said the loss of performances has already been heart- wrenching. “This reminds me of that picture from Tiananmen Square, where that young man stood in front of the tank,” she said of the throngs present. “This was my visceral response to this. I’ll stand in front of the wrecking ball if it’s going to come to that. My guess is many of these people would come down because we saw what he did to the East Wing. Nobody thought he would actually do it. So I think the shock has mobilized people.”
Friday’s event followed a tumultuous week in federal courts in Washington where filings and counter-filings flooded the courts as the administration continues pushing for the president’s vanity projects. The administration has made substantive steps to begin work on a number of projects, despite the fact they are still being litigated. Such projects include Trump’s triumphal arch and the administration’s takeover of East Potomac Golf Links and the U.S. Institute of Peace.
Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump said he was willing to save the center, which he said was losing money. He did not address a question about demolishing it.
“We have a lot of people working very hard on it to save it,” he said. “I can save it easily, but why should we be doing that and then raise money for the rest of our lives to keep it afloat? Because that’s what you have to do, if we get no recognition. I think the Trump administration should be recognized as having saved the Kennedy Center.”
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