Donald Trump takes what he wants. A coin of your own? Let the US President shape it for him. A new ballroom at the White House? Trump is allowing it to be built despite the lack of Senate approval.
But there still seem to be limits. Trump has been fighting for months to get the Kennedy Center cultural institution named after him. A judge has so far stopped the plans. The institution's board of directors appointed by Trump is now igniting the next level of escalation.
The cultural center could close as early as Tuesday, the report says. Apparently there would even be a risk to human life if it remained open. According to Trump-appointed managing director Matt Floca, there is, among other things, severe storm damage. Part of the ceiling in the Grand Foyer had fallen and debris was scattered. There were no injuries, but there is said to be damage in several other places. There is also corrosion on supporting components of a canopy. The building is said to be unsafe for further use.
Trump as the only solution
The supposedly only way to avoid what appears to be more than just a “financial collapse”? Of course, Donald Trump. The US President has announced that he will raise the necessary funds, the report says, but his role must be appropriately acknowledged. In a sense, one could read the report, Trump's name has to be on the facade, otherwise the store will go bankrupt.
After taking office, Trump temporarily changed the name of the cultural center to the “Trump Kennedy Center” at the end of 2025 and had the lettering affixed to the facade. However, a federal court later ordered the name removed because such a renaming was illegal without congressional approval. The name was then removed in June 2026.
Now, according to the Washington Post, there is a proposal for new writing on the facade: “Renovation, restoration and endowment under the supervision of President Donald J. Trump and the Trump Kennedy Center Fund.”
One could describe the media report as the next chapter in a farce. But also as an attempt by the US President and his subordinates to impose a cult of personality in the United States. Trump has been accused of this repeatedly during his time in office, whether with the so-called Trump dollar, the ballroom or other state institutions that are suddenly supposed to be changed in his favor.
The Kennedy Center on the Potomac River traditionally presents all genres of theater, dance and music. The house is still named after former President John F. Kennedy (1917 to 1963). Last year, Trump officially took over the leadership of the cultural center. The incumbent US President said it had a "left-woke attitude" and made the institution the stage of his culture war. There are bands and stage works that have avoided the Kennedy Center ever since. Observers say that a “MAGA” wind is increasingly blowing across the campus with its nine venues.
Judge stopped plans
After the judge's decision that Trump's name had to be removed, the president suspended the renovation work. Only Congress can rename the Kennedy Center.
Trump's government, clearly accustomed to such arguments playing no role in his world, threatened to demolish the cultural center. Without the president's help, the building will "further deteriorate" and have to be demolished. The new warnings about the impending bankruptcy of the cultural site reveal that Trump and his people will not give up until the US President's name is hanging on the facade.
In view of the developments, critics speak of the “definition of madness”. This is the third attempt to "deface this sacred monument and turn it into a prestige project for one man's ego," lawyers Norm Eisen and Nathaniel Zelinsky, who work for Democratic Representative Joyce Beatty, told the Washington Post. "Even worse: Trump is taking the center hostage and practically threatening to destroy it if he doesn't get his way."
The financial problems, on the other hand, are probably real, but homemade: The Washington Post, citing internal figures, reports that ticket sales and donations plummeted after Trump had his name affixed to the building last year. And especially since Trump's people have taken control of what happens on the stages.
Accordingly, the Kennedy Center already expected a loss of $23 million for the current fiscal year in May. A spokesman confirmed the report to the newspaper, but in a Trump-like manner, he blamed the institution's former leadership and financial mismanagement. It is now up to Trump, or rather Trump's name, to save the cultural institution.
