US EditionKennedy Centre Adds Trump’s Name to Building One Day After Board Vote
The Trump-appointed board unanimously renamed the center despite legal restrictions requiring congressional approval to alter the 1964 memorial designation.
- On Dec. 19, 2025, workers adjusted the Kennedy Center's exterior name in Washington, D.C., to include President Donald J. Trump, despite pushback from lawmakers and Kennedy family members.
- The board of trustees, handpicked by President Donald J. Trump, voted Thursday to add his name after he installed a new board and made himself chairman earlier this year.
- Blue tarps and scaffolding hid crews as The Kennedy Center website and logo were updated to reflect the Trump-Kennedy branding and new exterior lettering.
- Legal experts note the original statutes explicitly prohibit renaming and experts say the Center's 1964 federal law memorial designation requires Congress and possibly 60 votes in the Senate to change the name.
- Members of the Kennedy family and Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, disputed the vote, with Beatty saying she was muted and quoting, `Clearly, the Congress has a say in this`.
25 Articles
25 Articles
Letters: Renaming Kennedy Center is merely a marketing stunt
Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor. Kennedy Center change is a marketing stunt Re: “Trump’s handpicked board votes to rename Washington performing arts center the Trump-Kennedy Center” (Dec. 18). The board of trustees of the Kennedy Center, stacked with Trump appointees, recently voted to rename the institution the “Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.” The …
Trump’s Hand-Picked Board Adds Trump’s Name to John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
The board of trustees at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts voted Thursday to rename the facility. Its new name will be The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. The board members were hand-picked by President Trump in February, after he named himself chair. Democratic lawmakers called the move illegal, saying in a statement that any name change would require an act of Congress.
'Desecration!' Internet rips 'thug' Trump for slapping his name on beloved monument
President Donald Trump caused an uproar online Friday as he slapped his name on the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, flouting a federal law prohibiting changes to the building's name. Washington, D.C. resident Andrew Howard had sharp words after watching the building change names in front of his ...
Analysis: Trump’s bulldozer view of laws hits the Kennedy Center
The law seems pretty clear. There’s an entire subchapter in US code that deals with the “John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts” and it says nothing about the board being able to change the name.
The Needle: Trump Adds His Name to the Kennedy Center, Erika Kirk Endorses Vance for 2028, and America’s 250th Birthday Celebration Is Giving Hunger Games
What’s in a name: The White House is trying to rename the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which, if you’ll recall, is already named after a president, to the Trump-Kennedy Center. Yesterday, the center’s board of trustees (which, again, you’ll remember, have all been appointed by convicted felon and President Donald Trump) voted to rename the facility. The website has already been updated to reflect the name change, though the le…
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