President Donald Trump fought back against opponents of his takeover of the Kennedy Center with a staged glance at demolition plans aboard Air Force One. Multiple photos taken from the runway show Trump in a plane viewing a poster board. The board features images of heavy machinery and a title that reads “Kennedy Center DEMOLITION.”
Several fast developments surrounding the Kennedy Center transpired this past week. On Tuesday the 15th, federal Judge Christopher R. Cooper barred the president from adding his name to the center’s facade. It was the second time Judge Cooper had blocked the move.
The president appointed himself as chairman last year, and his hand-picked board of directors of the Kennedy Center voted for a third time to add Trump’s name to the center. It would be an inscription below the main signage that would read “Renovated and Restored by President Donald J. Trump.”
Rep. Joyce Beatty, an ex officio board member who has filed a lawsuit against the original name change, objected to the effort. In August, she asked the judge to block the center from adding the inscription. Judge Cooper agreed, ruling that it violated his previous order. He also rejected a second proposal to rename the center’s grounds “President Donald J. Trump Plaza.”
“Simply put, defendants cannot install memorials for President Trump or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress’s blessing,” the judge writes.
Coincidentally, Beatty went right from court to a virtual Kennedy Center board meeting with Trump in attendance, where the outcome of the ruling was shared. According to Beatty, the president “went into a tantrum” and insulted her, calling her “dumb,” an “obstructionist,” and “incompetent.” Beatty defended herself, telling the president that he was ignorant and incompetent. “It was the most unprofessional thing that I’ve ever witnessed or been a part of,” Beatty told MS NOW on Wednesday.
That interaction may have contributed to Trump’s sudden decision to shut down the Kennedy Center altogether. After the board meeting, the building was closed effective immediately, and everyone was instructed to leave. Trump had previously threatened to close the center over safety concerns, including a claim that part of the ceiling had fallen during a storm. A video and claim posted by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick were reportedly staged or generated with AI.
Another development in Tuesday’s drama was the resignation of the Kennedy Center’s chief financial officer, Donna Arduin Kauranen, without explanation.
Following the closure, Beatty and her legal team requested an emergency hearing with Judge Cooper. They accused the board of violating the judge’s previous order.
On Thursday, Judge Cooper denied Beatty’s request for an emergency hearing and allowed the temporary closure to continue. He did, however, add a proviso requiring that the congresswoman and other preservation groups receive 30 days’ notice of any significant changes. This includes any demolition of the center’s main building.
This week, the president tied money he claimed to have raised for the center to recognition of his efforts through the proposed signage. “The Trump administration should certainly have some recognition,” he told reporters on Wednesday. “Because, frankly, if we don’t do that, it’s going to close. It’ll end up being ripped down.”
On Friday evening, a massive group of protesters formed a human chain around the Kennedy Center to protest Trump’s threats to indefinitely close, rename, or demolish the venue.
Photo courtesy of Unsplash
