Donald Trump's battle to rename the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts after himself has put the institution's future at risk. After courts ruled against adding his name, Trump threatened to block renovations and suggested the landmark could be demolished. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.
The center was born with the world premiere of Leonard Bernstein's Mass. "Young people will come here and they will see this cultural centre," Rose Kennedy, the mother of slain US president John F Kennedy, said at that opening night gala. "They will carry some of these ideas back to their different communities."
More than half a century later, the potential death knell came just after 4.30pm on Tuesday with a perfunctory announcement on the public address system: "The centre is now closed to the public. Please exit the centre by way of the Hall of States." Soon barricades had been erected and security guards were blocking access.
The John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC, once filled with the buzz of audiences and children, had fallen as silent as a mausoleum. Now a high stakes legal battle is under way to prevent Donald Trump from taking a wrecking ball to the building that is both national arts complex and living memorial to the 35th president.
The current White House occupant, incensed that courts have prevented his name being added to the Kennedy Center, told reporters this week: "I think 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." On social media, Trump declared the venue "destined to doom" without his intervention.
The once unthinkable threat became more thinkable when an Agence France-Presse photographer took a picture of Trump aboard Air Force One, holding a placard with ominous red text: "Kennedy Center DEMOLIS..." The rest of the word was obscured by the plane's window frame. Below was a big picture showing a yellow heavy construction vehicle scooping rubble from a torn-down building.
Trump has no legal right to demolish the facility, which was established by Congress. Critics say he is acting out of spite because he cannot get his way. Kerry Kennedy, the former president's niece, said: "Like a child who can't play with a toy, he wants to stomp on the toy. But this is not a toy. This is the living memorial to a slain president.
"It would be like adding the Trump name to the Trump-Lincoln Memorial or the Trump-Jefferson Memorial or Trump-Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The courts have spoken, he cannot demolish it, he cannot put his name on it and he should be focused instead on his job."
The Kennedy Center did not respond to requests for comment.
The 100ft structure opened in 1971 on the banks of the Potomac River. Since then it has presented ballet, children's theatre, comedy, contemporary dance, hip-hop, jazz, international festivals and educational programmes. The annual Kennedy Center Honors have hosted past presidents and a who's who of US arts and culture.
Trump seized control of the facility in February 2025, claimed its finances were in dire straits and fired board members who did not align with his "vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture". Deborah Rutter, the centre's president, was ousted and replaced by Ric Grenell, a Trump loyalist and former ambassador with no experience in arts management.
An initiative created in 2020 to promote anti-racism and community outreach was shut down and its 10-person staff dismissed. Citing "drag shows specifically targeting our youth", any programming perceived as "woke" was purged. It was a commercial disaster as audiences, performers and philanthropists deserted the centre in droves.
Lawyer Norm Eisen, who has litigated against the administration's attempts to impinge on institutional independence, said: "He slapped his name on there and destroyed the lifeblood of the Kennedy Center: audience and artists."
In January, the Kennedy Center hosted the world premiere of Melania, a documentary about the first lady, with the Trumps in attendance. Three days later, the president announced that he would be closing the facility for two years for $257m repairs and renovations.
The Trump-appointed board backed the move and also voted to rename the venue the "Trump-Kennedy Center". Trump's name was duly added to the exterior marble facade, before the US district judge Christopher Cooper intervened and ruled that only Congress has the authority to rename the memorial. The name was removed but the result remains hidden by giant scaffolding and tarpaulins.
Asked about Trump's motivations, Eisen of Democracy Defenders Action added: "You would need an authority in abnormal psychology to get the answer to that question but he appears to have developed an obsession because he's not used to hearing the word no."
On Tuesday this week, Judge Cooper again ruled that the Trump administration could not put a new Trump sign on the Kennedy Center's facade or rename its plaza.