Judge blocks renaming, closure of Kennedy Center

Say it aint so · May 29, 2026

President Donald Trump’s effort to rebrand the Kennedy Center in his own name is illegal, a federal judge ruled Friday.

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper said the rebranding of the institution that honors President John F. Kennedy as the “Trump-Kennedy Center” violated the clear language of federal law that requires the building to honor “President Kennedy and President Kennedy alone.”

The order to revert to the original, longstanding name came as part of a broader ruling that also overturned a plan announced in March to close the center for two years for renovations. Cooper, an Obama appointee, said repairs to the campus can proceed and an outright closure in the future might be lawful if the center’s board is more thoroughly consulted. -Politico

You don't need a polymarket wager to know Trump et al will just ignore another court ruling.

Tropical Wilds · May 29, 2026

I look forward to the early morning social media meltdown.

DaisyDay · May 29, 2026

What makes the Kennedy Center an anomaly is that Donald painted the gold columns white.

GoldenBoy89 · May 29, 2026

What kind of person puts their name on a dead, assassinated president’s memorial?

You’d have to be completely bereft of any moral compass to even think that’s appropriate.

Say it aint so · May 29, 2026

Tropical Wilds said:
I look forward to the early morning social media meltdown.

He didn't wait till morning:

Tropical Wilds · May 29, 2026

Say it aint so said:
He didn't wait till morning:

LOL, fantastic. 7 out of 10 meltdown.

Fantine · May 29, 2026

GoldenBoy89 said:
What kind of person puts their name on a dead, assassinated president’s memorial?

You’d have to be completely bereft of any moral compass to even think that’s appropriate.

Well he alleges that there have been about four assassination attempts on his life, although they don't stand up to scrutiny, so he probably thinks he's entitled.

Bradskii · May 29, 2026

Whoever is in charge of changing the signage should hold a lottery. Winner to actually get to chisel the name off the front of the of the building.

Hans Blaster · May 29, 2026

Say it aint so said:
He didn't wait till morning:

The aides who write his grammatically correct rants don't stay up until 3.

essentialsaltes · May 29, 2026

Even Trump knows what its real name is

Say it aint so · May 30, 2026

Bradskii said:
Whoever is in charge of changing the signage should hold a lottery. Winner to actually get to chisel the name off the front of the of the building.

Yes. Raffle the honor off.

Fantine · May 31, 2026

Hopefully it won't be a change in name only. The Kennedy family should be permitted to appoint a completely new board of directors.

Trump is on a building spree. Let him build his own center and fill its schedule with C list celebrities.

DaisyDay · May 31, 2026

If he were to hand back the Center to Congress, I hope they will fire his loyalist board and put people who care about the arts back in charge.

Desk trauma · Jun 1, 2026

DaisyDay said:
If he were to hand back the Center to Congress, I hope they will fire his loyalist board and put people who care about the arts back in charge.

This congress? lol

DaisyDay · Jun 1, 2026

Desk trauma said:
This congress? lol

I would argue, but....

MarcusGregor · Saturday at 8:40 AM

Trump's name removed from Kennedy Center after blowing past deadline

President Trump's name was taken off the Kennedy Center after a federal judge denied the administration's request that his order be put on hold.

www.usatoday.com

Akita Suggagaki · Saturday at 9:04 AM

And with changes at midterm elections maybe we can refocus for the common good. Not swing to the other extreme but find virtue and wisdom in the middle with dialogue and collaboration.

DaisyDay · Saturday at 10:19 AM

Akita Suggagaki said:
And with changes at midterm elections maybe we can refocus for the common good. Not swing to the other extreme but find virtue and wisdom in the middle with dialogue and collaboration.

The changes at midterm are unlikely to salvage the Kennedy Center as the Donald board will still be in charge. The Washington National Opera (WNO), which severed ties with the Kennedy Center after its takeover by Donald after 15 years of affiliation, is now suing the KC over donor monies.

Washington National Opera sues Kennedy Center over $17 million in withheld donations

The lawsuit comes six months after the opera company left the center in protest and amid a last-minute fight against an order to remove the president’s name from the building facade.

www.courthousenews.com

For the previous 15 years, the center had routinely provided annual financial statements each January or February.

The opera company said relations began deteriorating in March 2025 when the center reduced or failed to provide staffing and support services required under the 2024 agreement.

The WNO Development Office, responsible for the company’s largest source of revenue, was supposed to expand from eight employees to 12 under the 2024 deal. By November 2025, it had no full-time staff.

“The result was chaos,” the opera company said. “Gifts went unprocessed or unacknowledged, donor benefits went unfulfilled and donor communications went unanswered. WNO staff had to perform work the Kennedy Center had agreed to provide, trying to protect donor relationships and to preserve WNO’s fundraising pipeline. WNO employees performed multiple job functions at once and worked extended hours to maintain basic operations.”

The opera company said it lost access to its financial records in fall 2025 after the Kennedy Center installed new financial-management software and repeatedly denied the opera’s requests for access.

On Jan. 8, 2026, the Kennedy Center’s chief financial officer told the opera company that money in the Board Special Revenue Fund belonged to the center, not the opera. The email also disclosed that the Kennedy Center had already used those funds as collateral for its line of credit.

On Jan. 9, 2026, the opera company’s board voted to terminate the agreement and requested the return of all Washington National Opera assets by March 31, 2026.

Later that same day, the Kennedy Center cut off the opera’s access to its electronic data stored on the Kennedy Center’s systems, including its emails, donor information, meeting minutes and Board of Trustees records dating back to 2011. The center further locked the opera out of its workplace locations and sent termination letters to its employees.

Then-Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell posted on X that the Kennedy Center had decided to terminate its partnership with the opera company.

It's surprising to me how quickly the authoritarian president drove the Kennedy Center into the ground. I don't see how it will recover with its current board.

iluvatar5150 · 2026-06-14T09:18:45-0500

DaisyDay said:
I don't see how it will recover with its current board.

I think that's the point.

durangodawood · 2026-06-14T09:42:03-0500

iluvatar5150 said:
I think that's the point.

The Trump legacy will be mainly vandalism - on many levels.

Judge blocks renaming, closure of Kennedy Center

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