Trump: No Kennedy Center Renovation if My Name Isn’t on the Building

The Kennedy Center Board of Trustees voted Tuesday to temporarily shutter the institution’s main building at the request of President Donald Trump, who claims the performing arts center “is in a virtual state of collapse.”

The closure will allow for an extensive renovation that is expected to cost $250 million.

However, it’s unclear whether the renovation will happen. Just minutes after the board’s meeting Tuesday, Trump said the planned construction would not proceed unless he is allowed to add his name to the building.

The remarks were a response to a court ruling earlier in the day that blocked the board from affixing his name to the building without congressional approval.

“The closing will take place immediately, however, the Renovation and Reconstruction, which is a very large and complex job, cannot begin until such time as the D.C. Circuit rules on the Board’s approved name,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “If the ruling is a negative one, which it should not be, and is not overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Reconstruction and the Renovation of The Kennedy Center will not take place.”

Trump added that the Justice Department will ask for an expedited appeal.

During a closure, some Kennedy Center programing would probably be hosted at a nearby complex known as the REACH — which will also hold the memorial to President John F. Kennedy during the renovations — according to a draft resolution obtained by The Washington Post earlier this week.

The board had been considering 10 potential ways to recognize Trump on the building’s front facade, such as “Renovation and endowment overseen by President Donald J. Trump and the Trump Kennedy Center Fund.”

U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper ruled Tuesday that the board could not circumvent an earlier decision he handed down in May that blocked the addition of the president’s name on the building as well as an initial plan to close the center for renovations.

The board now argues that new evidence has made the need for a two-year closure more apparent.

In its proposal this week, the board cited “additional water intrusion and deterioration of the Center’s physical plant caused a partial ceiling collapse in the Grand Foyer, releasing debris from a height of approximately 60 feet and endangering visitors and employees alike.”