Donald Trump reacted with intense anger after a judge decided that his name must be taken off the Kennedy Center. On Friday, he shared a long message on his Truth Social page, criticizing the judge and stating that he was done with the project.
After his second inauguration, Trump appointed himself to the board of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts and also added some of his supporters to the board, which then made him the chair.
This move was controversial; Trump’s supporters celebrated his control, while his critics were appalled, leading to a drop in ticket sales.
In December, the announcement that Trump’s name would be added to the Kennedy Center caused immediate backlash from members of the Kennedy family and others against the president.
This anger grew after his name was added to the building’s exterior just a day later. The center’s website and social media were updated to refer to it as “The Trump Kennedy Center.”
Trump has often claimed that the board “voted unanimously” for the name change, but Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH), a board member, tweeted that she was “muted on the call and not allowed to speak or voice my opposition to this move.”
She pointed out that the name change wasn’t on the agenda, and both House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA) were absent during the meeting but later expressed their opposition in interviews.
In late December, Beatty filed a lawsuit challenging the “illegal renaming,” stating that “[b]ecause Congress named the center by statute, changing the Kennedy Center’s name requires an act of Congress.”
She is being represented by Norm Eisen and the group he co-founded, Democracy Defenders Action, along with the Washington Litigation Group.
When Trump announced that the Kennedy Center would be closed for two years for “Construction, Revitalization, and Complete Rebuilding,” Beatty changed her claims to also block this closure.
On Friday, Judge Christopher Cooper, an Obama appointee from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, sided with Beatty, ordering that both the planned closure be stopped and Trump’s name be removed from the Kennedy Center.
“The Kennedy Center’s foundational law clearly states that the Center is to be named for President Kennedy, and it cannot have any other official name based solely on the Board’s decision,” Cooper wrote.
“Congress named the Kennedy Center, and only Congress can change its name.”
The name change “represents much more than a simple nickname,” the judge continued, stating that Trump’s board appointees had “clearly broken the Kennedy Center’s foundational law—and the terms of the trust—when they renamed the Center after President Trump and displayed his name on the building.”
“There is no real disagreement on this matter, just a weak attempt to present the renaming as something it wasn’t: a simple nickname,” Cooper stated, dismissing the Trump administration’s arguments as “too clever by half.”
Trump strongly criticized the judge’s ruling, incorrectly saying that the board had “unanimously voted” to include his name and complaining that Cooper was “appointed by Barack Hussein Obama.”
“Judge Cooper should be ashamed of himself!”
Trump wrote. “Sadly, Judge Cooper and the Radical Left would rather see [the Kennedy Center] DIE than let President Trump turn it into something everyone can be proud of.”
He finished by saying, “I cannot be involved with a situation where danger to the Public is allowed to flourish in plain and open sight,” and “[u]nless I am free to do what I do better than anyone else, bring this Institution back, physically, financially, and artistically, I have no interest in continuing what could only be a hopeless journey into ‘NEVER NEVER LAND.
‘”
He added that he has “instructed the Department of Commerce to make all necessary arrangements with Congress to allow a full and complete transfer of this Institution, giving them the responsibility for its Operation, Maintenance, and Management.”
It was not immediately clear who Trump intends for the Kennedy Center to be transferred to.
The full text of Trump’s post said:
Shockingly, a Judge appointed by Barack Hussein Obama, Christopher Cooper, ruled that The Kennedy Center, which was going to close in early July for largescale renovations and construction due to years of neglect, decay, and poor maintenance, and which was to be transformed by the Trump Administration into the Finest Facility of its kind, anywhere in the World, is not allowed to close for these renovations, which would not be possible to properly do without such a closure. Additionally, Judge Cooper ruled that the 36 Member Board of Trustees, which unanimously voted to add the name “TRUMP” onto the former Kennedy Center, making it The Trump Kennedy Center, did not have the right to do such an addition, and the name, “TRUMP,” must be removed.
The Kennedy Center has lost, over the years, prior to our getting involved a short while ago, Hundreds of Millions of Dollars — In some cases, including ridiculous construction jobs that were done, over 100 Million Dollars a year. I took great pride in taking over a losing Institution, and looked forward to making it into a Great and Prestigious WINNER for Washington, D.C., and indeed, the United States of America. Unfortunately, Judge Cooper and the Radical Left would rather see it DIE than have President Trump transform it into something that everyone could be proud of, much as I have done, in many cases, throughout my life, and recently, with all of the construction, renovations, and “fix ups” that we have completed with the Department of Interior on Waterfalls, Fountains, Monuments, and other things of Beauty that we have brought back to life in a now SAFE AND SECURE, after Record Setting Crime, Washington, D.C., which is thriving like, perhaps, never before!
Therefore, based on the fact that the Radical Left Democrats care more about opposing your favorite President, ME, than saving a dying Performing Arts Center, almost all of which lose large amounts of money throughout the Country, we are going to be working with Congress to transfer this failing Institution back to them so they can make a determination as to what to do with it. Judge Cooper was given a presentation by leading Building and Construction Experts as to how structurally dangerous the Building is, with rotting beams, parking areas that are subject to collapse, and various other Life and Safety problems, in addition to the fact that it also needs a MAJOR renovation, from an aesthetic standpoint, but he was not “swayed,” and said he wants the Building to, incredibly, remain open and, therefore, dangerous. Judge Cooper should be ashamed of himself! I cannot be involved with a situation where danger to the Public is allowed to flourish in plain and open sight. Unless I am free to do what I do better than anyone else, bring this Institution back, physically, financially, and artistically, I have no interest in continuing what could only be a hopeless journey into “NEVER NEVER LAND.” There has never been a President of the United States who has been treated so unfairly by the Courts as I but, that’s OK, I will continue to do, what is considered to be, a great job for the wonderful people of our Country. I have instructed the Department of Commerce to make all necessary arrangements with Congress to allow a full and complete transfer of this Institution, giving them the responsibility for its Operation, Maintenance, and Management. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP
About the Author
