Trump Looks to Remake Kennedy Center in His Image
Photo courtesy Kevin Lamarque/REUTERS
By Patrick D. Lewis
President Donald Trump announced late Sunday that he plans to close Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center for two years in order to make sweeping renovations to the performing arts center.
In a post to social media, Trump said the center would close for two years on July 4 for “Construction of the new and spectacular Entertainment Complex,” which said will make the facility “without question, the finest Performing Arts Facility of its kind, anywhere in the World.” The projects, Trump said, will cost around $200 million, which he said he has already secured financing for. It is unclear where the funding will come from, as Trump said in another post that the center has been running at a large deficit for years.
The move is expected to be approved by the center’s board of trustees, to which Trump has appointed a number of supporters to and installed himself as chair.
Although details surrounding the planned renovations are scarce, Trump told reporters earlier this week, “I’m not ripping it down,” before going on to say that most of the building’s exterior would be removed down to the steel beams. Trump said most of the building’s iconic marble facade would be saved, although whether it will still be on the building or will be put into storage isn’t known.
The announcement came just two days after Trump attended the opening of “Melania,” a documentary film about his wife, Melania Trump, at the facility and a few weeks after he hosted a FIFA awards show there.
Trump renamed the center the “Trump Kennedy Center” earlier this year and has overhauled the program schedule at the center, which he said was previously left-leaning. A number of prominent regular performers have since ended their relationship with the facility in protest and attendance at events there has dipped significantly.
The announcement has been met with major resistance from performers, staff members, Democratic lawmakers, and some members of the Kennedy family, according to reporting from The Washington Post and other outlets.
The Post said that staff at the facility only learned about the planned closure through Trump’s public announcement, as did at least some of the center’s board members, despite Trump-allied senior management members apparently having participated in meetings with architects and design consultants for some time leading up to the announcement.
There has not been any release of information as to what events and performances already scheduled to happen during the closure will do other than a promise to the National Symphony Orchestra, which makes its home at the center. It will continue to receive funding and will be found other places to perform at, according to the Post.
The board still has to approve the proposal, which is expected to happen given the majority of the board was appointed by Trump.
