Kennedy Centre board moves to add Trump’s name to venue
THE board of the John F. Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts voted on Thursday to rename Washington’s premier arts venue after President Donald Trump as well as the late former president.
It’s unclear if the board, which was handpicked by Trump, has the legal authority to change the name of the facility.
“The Kennedy Centre Board of Trustees voted unanimously today to name the institution The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Centre for the Performing Arts,” Kennedy Centre spokeswoman Roma Daravi said in a statement, asserting that Trump “saved the institution from financial ruin and physical destruction.”
“I was surprised by it. I was honoured by it,” Trump told reporters later Thursday when asked about the effort. “This was brought up by one of the very distinguished board members and they voted on it.”
The move is the latest in an aggressive effort by Trump and his allies to overhaul the nation’s capital in his image, including by tearing down the East Wing of the White House in order to build an oversized ballroom, renaming the US Institute of Peace after the president and moving to seize control of the city’s municipal golf courses.
Shortly after retaking office, Trump revamped the Kennedy Centre’s board, purging members and packing it with his own allies, a shift from the center’s long legacy of bipartisan governance. Those changes included ousting David Rubenstein as chairman and naming himself the new chair.
Earlier this month, Trump personally hosted the Kennedy Centre Honors ceremony, awarding stars including actor Sylvester Stallone, the band KISS and singer Gloria Gaynor. He also urged Fifa to relocate the World Cup draw ceremony to the venue.
The change could face legal hurdles. Current law bars “additional memorials or plaques in the nature of memorials” from being installed after 1983. But given that congressional Republicans are disinclined to stop the change, that legal provision seems unlikely to immediately prevent Trump’s name from being added to the building.
“The Kennedy Centre Board has no authority to actually rename the Kennedy Centre in the absence of legislative action,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters at the Capitol.
The centre was named for former President John F. Kennedy following his assassination. He and former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy had been instrumental to the development of the centre.
Kennedy’s grandson, Jack Schlossberg, in July criticised the idea of adding Trump’s name to the building, which was proposed in a bill introduced by House Republicans.
“Trump is obsessed with being bigger than JFK, with minimising the many heroes of our past, as if that elevates him,” Schlossberg said in a social media post. “It doesn’t.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt in a social media post extended “congratulations to President Kennedy, because this will be a truly great team long into the future!”
“The building will no doubt attain new levels of success and grandeur,” she said.
Trump has vowed to make physical improvements to the performing arts centre and overhaul its programming. He criticised past artistic decisions that clashed with his worldview, claiming its selection of shows had been politicised, and said that the building was in a state of disrepair.
The president has long had a contentious relationship with the venue and his changes have delivered a jolt to the centerpiece of the capital’s arts scene.
The backlash from the arts world to his takeover saw the popular musical Hamilton scrap plans for a run and actress Issa Rae and musician Rhiannon Giddens cancel planned performances. Television producer Shonda Rhimes also resigned as treasurer in February. BLOOMBERG
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