President Donald Trump’s Kennedy Center will shut down immediately after its board voted Tuesday to close the landmark amid mounting financial problems and concerns about the building’s condition.
Trump, who chairs the Kennedy Center board, joined the closed-door meeting virtually, where the board made the decision.
The shutdown comes as Kennedy Center officials warn that the institution is facing severe financial pressure while also pushing ahead with plans for an extensive renovation. But the shutdown quickly became entangled with Trump’s separate fight to put his name on the Kennedy Center.
Just before Tuesday’s board meeting, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled that Congress, not the board, has the authority to change the Kennedy Center’s name.
Trump responded after the vote in a Truth Social post, announcing that the board had agreed “almost unanimously” to close the building for safety reasons and begin preparing for reconstruction.
However, he said the actual work would remain on hold until the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit rules on what he called the board’s “approved name.”
Trump went even further, saying that if the appeals court rules against the board and the Supreme Court does not overturn that decision, the Kennedy Center renovation “will not take place.”
He said Justice Department attorneys will seek an expedited appeal. Trump also claimed he raised $17 million that has since been deposited into the Kennedy Center’s account to help keep the financially struggling institution afloat.
That declaration directly links the future of the massive renovation project to a legal fight over whether and where Trump’s name can appear at the Kennedy Center.
Trump’s board had already presented roughly 10 different alternatives that would place Trump’s name on or around the Kennedy Center without formally renaming the institution, the Associated Press reports. But there’s a catch: the proposed text would appear beneath the center’s exterior.
The inscriptions include “Renovation and endowment overseen by President Donald J. Trump and the Trump Kennedy Center Fund” and “With Gratitude for Support from President Donald J. Trump and the Trump Kennedy Center Fund.”
Fans chimed in after the latest development, with many aiming for Trump’s continued push to attach his name to the Kennedy Center.
“He can’t stand anyone else being honored. Always about himself,” read one online complaint.
“He says the only way it will survive is if his name goes on it, F it put his name on it and let it sit and rot, enough of this hostage bs,” said another critic.
Others simply wondered, “Where are the Kennedy’s … they can’t possibly be ok with this.”
Critics piled on, calling Trump “pathetic” and disgusting, while claiming, “It’s his jealousy of JFK.”
Another said, “It makes me sad & sick that Trump feels he can bankrupt the Kennedy Center. Everything he touches dies.”
In February, the late Democratic president’s family members spoke out against Trump’s takeover.
Jack Schlossberg, Kennedy’s grandson, said that the Republican could “take” the center. He added, “JFK is kept alive by us now, rising up to remove Donald Trump, bring him to justice” for destroying generations of freedoms.
Maria Shriver, Kennedy’s niece, mocked Trump’s fragile ego, insinuating that he proposed the closure to cover up the negative effect of his Kennedy Center hijacking.
However, the businessman has ignored the heckling and court orders. He has continued to make changes, such as removing the longstanding “Blue” sculpture, despite the ongoing legal battle.
The administration has also proposed demolishing the center if it does not meet its demands.
For now, the curtain is coming down on the Kennedy Center while the fight over Trump’s name remains unresolved.
The board has approved the shutdown and renovation, but the president’s proposed place on the exterior of the 55-year-old memorial to John F. Kennedy will remain a legal question unless Congress or a higher court changes the outcome.
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