In 2025 as he entered his second term, U.S. Pres. Donald Trump began to take control of the Kennedy Center, which he accused of “woke” programming and mismanagement. His goals were to “root out anti-American propaganda” and restore the “Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture.” To that end, Trump reshaped the Kennedy Center’s board by removing the members who had been appointed by his predecessor, Joe Biden, and replacing them with his own appointees. Trump soon announced that the new board had voted to install him as its chair, removing the previous chair, David Rubenstein. That move was seen as highly unusual considering that no U.S. president had ever served on the board, let alone as chair. That same year the Kennedy Center’s president, Deborah Rutter, stepped down and was replaced by Richard Grenell, a longtime adviser to Trump on foreign policy. In December 2025 the center’s board announced that it had changed the center’s name to The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. In 2026 Trump announced that the “dilapidated” center would close in July for a two-year renovation. In June a federal court judge ordered that all references to Trump be removed from the center. That same judge also said that the center could not close unless the board of trustees provided evidence that it had considered the ramifications of closing the leading arts venue in Washington, D.C. In August the board voted to go ahead with the closure. It also proposed adding Trump’s name to the exterior of the building, with an inscription noting his role in the renovation. Both must be approved by the judge.
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