Donald Trump’s escalating battle over the Kennedy Center took an extraordinary turn Tuesday when the president called into a meeting of the institution’s board — and ended up in a heated confrontation with Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty.
Hours later, Beatty appeared on CNN and told Kaitlan Collins exactly what happened.
And her description was remarkable.
The confrontation came shortly after U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper handed Beatty another legal victory in her fight over Trump’s efforts to have his name displayed at the Kennedy Center.
Cooper ruled that the Kennedy Center board could not install new memorials honoring Trump — including a proposed inscription crediting him with renovating and restoring the building — without congressional authorization.
Then came the board meeting.
According to CNN, Trump called into the meeting and confronted Beatty, the Ohio Democrat whose lawsuit has played a central role in blocking efforts to place his name on the building.
Three sources familiar with the meeting described the confrontation to CNN.
One summed it up in three words:
“It was f**king crazy.”
Another source told CNN that Trump screamed during the exchange and blamed Beatty for involving the courts and contributing to the Kennedy Center’s problems.
Beatty later went public herself.
Speaking with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, she said Trump “threw a tantrum” and made the dispute personal after losing in court earlier that day.
The confrontation apparently descended into direct name-calling.
Beatty said Trump called her incompetent during the exchange. She did not simply absorb the insult.
She responded in kind.
The congresswoman has separately described the episode as one of the most unprofessional encounters she has experienced and said Trump accused her of being an obstructionist while attacking her intelligence and competence.
The White House strongly disputes Beatty’s broader characterization of the Kennedy Center fight. A White House spokesperson accused Democrats of opposing Trump’s efforts to save the institution, while Trump and his allies argue that the aging building urgently needs extensive renovations.
The Kennedy Center says it faces serious structural and financial problems, and its Trump-aligned board voted Tuesday to close the main building for renovations.
But the timing added another layer to an already bitter dispute.
The board meeting occurred shortly after Cooper again ruled against efforts to put Trump’s name on the Kennedy Center.
Trump has made clear that the naming dispute is tied to what happens next.
Following Tuesday’s developments, he said reconstruction and renovation would not begin until the appeals process over the naming issue plays out — and suggested the fight could ultimately reach the Supreme Court.
Beatty, meanwhile, has continued challenging the board’s actions in court.
That leaves one of Washington’s most famous cultural institutions caught in the middle of an extraordinary fight involving a president, a member of Congress, federal judges and a board dominated by Trump appointees.
But Tuesday’s confrontation offered something the court filings could not:
A glimpse of what that fight sounds like behind closed doors.
And according to someone who heard it firsthand, it was “f**king crazy.”
About the Author
President Chump is not crazy. He is Satan Incarnate. Remember that Satan had enough Sanity and Faith to ask Allah for a Reprieve so that he could do his evil thing with Allah’s Permission. But ULTIMATELY: “All who are born will taste death.” (Quran 21:35) and “…The Elements [The Created Universe] will disintegrate in Flames…” (2nd Peter 3:10) and “I will fill Hell with Jinn and Humans altogether – a Multitude from Every Community.” (Quran 11:119) President Chump will not really “get away with” ANYTHING!!! (Quran 11:119) Amen!?