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In the grand scale of his offenses over the past year, President Donald Trump’s dismantling of the Kennedy Center ranks pretty low, but that dismantling has hit another weird stage today. Last year, Trump installed a board of loyalists at the Kennedy Center, and they decided to rename the building, calling it the Trump-Kennedy Center. As a result, a great many artists have canceled their performances there. Most recently, Philip Glass withdrew his Abraham Lincoln symphony, which was set to premiere there in June. Now, Trump has announced that he’s shutting down the whole operation for a two-year renovation.
On his Truth Social site, Trump writes, “I have determined that the fastest way to bring The Trump Kennedy Center to the highest level of Success, Beauty, and Grandeur, is to cease Entertainment Operations for an approximately two year period of time, with a scheduled Grand Reopening that will rival and surpass anything that has taken place with respect to such a Facility before.” He says that his decision is “totally subject” to board approval but that “financing is completed, and fully in place!” (He doesn’t say how.)
Trump, who attended a screening of the Melania documentary at the Kennedy Center last week, says that the Kennedy Center “will close on July 4th, 2026, in honor of the 250th Anniversary of our Country, whereupon we will simultaneously begin Construction of the new and spectacular Entertainment Complex.” You can read his full statement, with all its chaotic phrasing and capitalization, below:
After a one year review of The Trump Kennedy Center, that has taken place with Contractors, Musical Experts, Art Institutions, and other Advisors and Consultants, deciding between either Construction with Closure and Re-Opening or, Partial Construction while continuing Entertainment Operations through a much longer period of time, working in and around the Performances, I have determined that The Trump Kennedy Center, if temporarily closed for Construction, Revitalization, and Complete Rebuilding, can be, without question, the finest Performing Arts Facility of its kind, anywhere in the World. In other words, if we don’t close, the quality of Construction will not be nearly as good, and the time to completion, because of interruptions with Audiences from the many Events using the Facility, will be much longer. The temporary closure will produce a much faster and higher quality result!
Based on these findings, and totally subject to Board approval, I have determined that the fastest way to bring The Trump Kennedy Center to the highest level of Success, Beauty, and Grandeur, is to cease Entertainment Operations for an approximately two year period of time, with a scheduled Grand Reopening that will rival and surpass anything that has taken place with respect to such a Facility before.
Therefore, The Trump Kennedy Center will close on July 4th, 2026, in honor of the 250th Anniversary of our Country, whereupon we will simultaneously begin Construction of the new and spectacular Entertainment Complex. Financing is completed, and fully in place! This important decision, based on input from many Highly Respected Experts, will take a tired, broken, and dilapidated Center, one that has been in bad condition, both financially and structurally for many years, and turn it into a World Class Bastion of Arts, Music, and Entertainment, far better than it has ever been before. America will be very proud of its new and beautiful Landmark for many generations to come. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
Less than a month ago,. Trump wrote this about the Kennedy Center:
Soon leaving the White House to speak to House Republicans, who I truly love (almost all!), at the TRUMP KENNEDY CENTER, where I have raised hundreds of millions of dollars to make it the best Performing Arts Center anywhere in the World. A year ago it was in a state of financial and physical collapse. Wait until you see it a year from now!!! Like our Country, itself, it will rise from the ashes. MAGA!!! President DJT