US EditionTrump Says Kennedy Center Will Close for Two Years for Renovations
President Trump says a two-year closure will enable faster, higher-quality renovations and create a world-class arts complex amid performer cancellations, with $257 million congressional funding.
- 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.
484 Articles
484 Articles
Trump Ripped After Announcing His Plan To Close The Kennedy Center For 'Complete Rebuilding'
MAGA Republican President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that he plans to close the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts for two years starting in July 2026.The Kennedy Center complex began as an unattributed national cultural center, but was renamed by Congress as a “living memorial” to assassinated President John F. Kennedy in 1964. Construction for the complex began that year and the center opened in 1971.Trump’s announce…
Kennedy Center President may sing praises about Trump’s reconstruction plans, but Kennedy descendants vehemently disagree
President Donald Trump announced Sunday that he plans to close the Kennedy Center for approximately two years to undergo a complete reconstruction. This proposal comes nearly a year after the president took over the arts institution and presidential memorial, remaking it in his own image and adding his name to the facade. However, more interestingly, it comes after lagging ticket sales, multiple artist cancellations, and staff resignation. Trump…
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…
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