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In a surprising move, President Donald Trump declared on Sunday his intention to shutter Washington’s Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for two years, beginning in July, to facilitate construction. This announcement marks another dramatic shift for the iconic venue since Trump’s return to the White House.
Trump’s social media post comes on the heels of numerous cancellations by top performers, musicians, and groups, following his decision to dismiss the previous management and have his name added to the venue. Notably, Trump did not address these recent cancellations in his announcement.
The proposal, which surfaced shortly after the Kennedy Center screened “Melania,” a documentary about the First Lady, requires approval from the center’s board, which is heavily populated with Trump’s chosen supporters. Trump himself holds the position of chair for the board of trustees.
“This critical decision, informed by many Highly Respected Experts, aims to transform a weary, broken, and neglected Center—one that has long been in poor financial and structural condition—into a World Class Bastion of Arts, Music, and Entertainment,” Trump stated in his post.
To date, neither Trump nor Ric Grenell, the Kennedy Center’s President and a Trump ally, have provided evidence supporting their claims of the building’s disrepair. Last October, Trump assured the public that the center would remain operational during renovations. However, in his Sunday announcement, Trump revealed that the center would close on July 4th to commence construction.
“Our goal has always been to not only save and permanently preserve the Center, but to make it the finest Arts Institution in the world,” Grenell said in a post, citing funds Congress approved for repairs.
“This will be a brief closure,” Grenell said. “It desperately needs this renovation and temporarily closing the Center just makes sense – it will enable us to better invest our resources, think bigger and make the historic renovations more comprehensive. It also means we will be finished faster.”
The sudden decision to shutter and reconstruct the Kennedy Center is sparking blowback as Trump disrupts the popular venue, which began as a national cultural center but Congress renamed as a “living memorial” to President John F. Kennedy in 1964, in the aftermath of the slain president’s death. Opened in 1971, it is open year-round as a public showcase for the arts, including the National Symphony Orchestra.
Since Trump returned to the White House, the Kennedy Center is one of many Washington landmarks that he has sought to overhaul in his second term. He demolished the East Wing of the White House and launched a massive $400 million ballroom project, is actively pursuing building a triumphal arch on the other side the Arlington Bridge from the the Lincoln Memorial, and has plans for Washington Dulles International Airport.
Leading performing arts groups have pulled out of appearances at the Kennedy Center, most recently, composer Philip Glass, who announced his decision to withdraw his Symphony No. 15 “Lincoln” because he said the values of the center today are in “direct conflict” with the message of the piece.
Last month, the Washington National Opera announced that it will move performances away from the Kennedy Center in another high-profile departure following Trump’s takeover of the U.S. capital’s leading performing arts venue.
The head of artistic programming for the center abruptly left his post last week, less than two weeks after being named to the job.
A spokesperson for the Kennedy Center could not immediately be reached and did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
Late last year, as Trump announced his plan to rename the building — erecting his name on the building’s main front ahead of that of Kennedy — he drew sharp opposition from members of Congress, and some Kennedy family members.
Kerry Kennedy, a niece of John F. Kennedy, said in a social post on X at the time that she will remove Trump’s name herself with a pickax when his term ends.
Another family member, Maria Shriver, said at the time that it is “beyond comprehension that this sitting president has sought to rename this great memorial dedicated to President Kennedy,” her uncle. “It is beyond wild that he would think adding his name in front of President Kennedy’s name is acceptable. It is not.”
Late Sunday evening, Shriver posted a new comment mimicking Trump’s own voice and style, and suggesting the closure of the venue was meant to deflect from the cancellations.
She said that “entertainers are canceling left and right” and the president has determined that “since the name change no one wants to perform there any longer.”
Trump has decided, she said, it’s best “to close this center down and rebuild a new center” that will bear his name. She asked, “right?”
One lawmaker, Rep. Joyce Beatty, the Ohio Democrat and ex-officio trustee of the center’s board, sued in December, arguing that “only Congress has the authority to rename the Kennedy Center.”
On Sunday, Beatty said that once again Trump “has acted with total disregard for Congress,” which allocates funds to the center.
She questioned what comes next for the artists — and the building itself. “Let’s be clear: remodeling the premises will not restore the Kennedy Center to what it was. A return to artistic independence will,” she said. “America’s artists are rejecting this attempted takeover, and the administration knows it.”
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Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.