US EditionTrump Says Kennedy Center Will Close for Two Years for Renovations
President Trump plans a two-year closure starting July 4 to enable faster renovations, funded by $257 million, amid artist cancellations and declining ticket sales at the Kennedy Center.
- On Sunday, President Donald Trump announced he will close the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts for two years beginning July 4, 2026, saying financing is completed and fully in place.
- Framing the work as urgent, Trump argued a full shutdown would enable faster, higher-quality renovations, with the Kennedy Center board of trustees voting to include his name.
- Several leading artists canceled scheduled appearances, including composer Philip Glass, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Issa Rae, and the Kennedy Center's head of artistic programming abruptly left last week.
- Facing legal challenge and protests, Rep. Joyce Beatty sued in December, saying Trump acted with 'total disregard for Congress,' while Kennedy family members including Maria Shriver and Kerry Kennedy publicly condemned the renaming and closure.
- Because the Kennedy Center is congressionally funded, Congress should have been consulted before a two-year shutdown, and earlier this month, the Washington National Opera announced it will move performances away.
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The Kennedy Center, a cultural gem of Washington DC and one of the most important sceneries of the performing arts in the United States, will bring down the curtain for two years starting July 4, just as the country celebrates its 250th anniversary. President Donald Trump, who promises a “complete reconstruction” of the complex, did so, but without fully explaining what that means in practice.Trump said he will not demolish the building, but he …
Trump says he won't tear down Kennedy Center arts venue but it needs to be closed for repairs
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Monday that he's “not ripping down” the Kennedy Center but insisted the performing arts venue needs to shut down for about two years for construction and other work without patrons coming and going and getting in the way. The comments strongly suggested that he intends to gut the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as part of the process. “I’m not ripping it down," the Republican president told…
Trump’s Kennedy Center overhaul adds to building spree reshaping Washington
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s planned overhaul of the Kennedy Center adds the venue to a growing list of construction projects by the former property developer that, if carried out, would amount to the most extensive remaking of Washington’s landscape in decades.
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, announced the closing of the Kennedy Center for two years on the occasion of “a total renewal,” he reported on his social networks. This pause will take place from July 4th with the intention of “getting the Center to achieve its greatest splendor and success.”
US President Donald Trump has announced that the Kennedy Center will close its doors for two years on July 4th for a renovation. The extent of the renovation is not yet known (except that it will be "major"), and the decision must be approved by the board of trustees.
The whisper of America's recent history is blowing around the Kennedy Center in the US federal capital, Washington D.C. Or more correctly, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It's raining...
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