by Charlie Hergott '27 on September 24, 2026
News
Last Wednesday, Sept. 16, President Donald Trump was photographed on Air Force One looking over a placard that appeared to read, “Kennedy Center DEMOLISHED” in large red letters. The photo was taken from outside the plane and captures Trump through a window examining the placard. Trump’s apparent envisaging of a demolished Kennedy Center is only the latest installment of his ongoing 19-month feud with the institution over its name.
Last December, outrage broke out when the board voted to add the president’s name to the Kennedy Center, thus making it “The Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.” Since then, President Trump has been engaging in a battle over the legality of adding his name to the center. His name remained on the building until June of this year, when a federal judge ruled that because the name of the Kennedy Center was established by a congressional act, it could only be altered by a congressional act. Nevertheless, the president has persisted and made attempts to have his name affixed to the building to recognize the work he has done to transform the Kennedy Center.
Ultimately, the feud over the institution’s name began with the president’s broader attempt to reshape and redefine the arts in the United States, striving to reach a Golden Age in Art and Culture. In February of last year, Trump became chair of the Center by firing half of the Board of Trustees and replacing them with partisan loyalists, who quickly voted him in as chair thereafter. President Trump was explicit in naming his reasons for the takeover: “I’m going to be chairman of it, and we’re going to make sure that it’s good and it’s not going to be woke. There’s no more woke in this country.” Soon thereafter, he fired the executive director and replaced him with a longtime loyalist, Richard Grenell, who has since cancelled a number of performances on this ground, including shows like Hamilton.
A number of artists have also refused to perform at the Center as an act of protest. The most recent development—Trump proposing the idea of destroying the Center completely—sparked a protest in which hundreds of activists formed a human chain around it. “The demonstration opposes the recent sudden closure of the facility, the installation of security fencing, and political efforts to alter or demolish portions of the presidential memorial,” The Hands Off the Arts organization stated on its website. A federal judge ruled that any major structural changes to the Kennedy Center must be announced at least 30 days in advance of executing said plans.
The president has noted that “the Trump administration should certainly have recognition. Because frankly, if we don’t do that, it’s going to close. It’ll end up being ripped down.” With the courts ruling that he cannot add his name, the fate of the Kennedy Center remains uncertain but appears to be tending toward a destructive end.