Apparently, taking Donald Trump’s name off the Kennedy Center wasn’t the end of the story. It was just a design problem.
President Trump’s handpicked board of the Kennedy Center has voted again to close the performing arts institution for renovations — and this time, the board also found a new way to put Trump’s name on the building without technically renaming it.
According to two people briefed on the decision, the board voted Thursday to add an inscription beneath the Kennedy Center’s existing sign reading: “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump.”
Because apparently the building itself wasn’t enough.
The board also voted to keep the REACH, a separate part of the Kennedy Center complex, open during the renovations. The smaller facility would continue hosting more limited programming while the main building undergoes a planned two-year closure, CNN reports.
The move comes after months of legal and political chaos surrounding one of Washington’s most prominent cultural institutions.
Trump made reshaping the Kennedy Center a priority during his second term. Earlier this year, he announced plans to shut the center down for renovations, arguing that the facility was in poor condition.
Then came the naming controversy.
In December, the board voted to rename the institution the “Trump Kennedy Center.”
There was just one problem. Congress had already named it the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
And a federal judge wasn’t particularly impressed with the board’s attempt to rewrite that.
In May, U.S. District Judge Casey Cooper blocked the planned two-year closure, ruling that the board needed to consider maintaining some programming during the renovations so the center could continue carrying out its congressionally mandated functions.
Cooper also ruled that the board had violated the law by adding Trump’s name to the performing arts venue.
The law establishing the center, Cooper wrote, makes clear that it is to be named for President Kennedy and cannot simply be given another formal name or memorial at the board’s discretion.
So in June, Trump’s name was removed from the Kennedy Center’s facade following the court order.
Problem solved?
Not quite. The center’s name is still covered by large tarps.
And now Trump’s name is apparently coming back — just underneath the sign instead of as part of the institution’s official name.
One source briefed on Thursday’s vote argued that the inscription isn’t technically an attempt to rename the Kennedy Center.
That’s one way to look at it.
Another source described the inscription as a “permanent reminder” of his undermining of the institution.
Either way, the message is difficult to miss.
Trump’s name may not officially be part of the Kennedy Center’s name, but the board appears determined to make sure visitors see it anyway.
And the timing couldn’t be more awkward for an institution already struggling to get back on its feet.
The Kennedy Center has dealt with falling ticket sales, artists pulling out of performances, political controversy and a depleted staff.
The original shutdown plan had already generated intense scrutiny.
Now the institution is preparing for another lengthy closure while trying to maintain at least some programming at the REACH.
And hanging over all of it is the increasingly bizarre question of how many different ways Trump’s name can appear on a building Congress explicitly named after John F. Kennedy.
The court said the Kennedy Center can’t be formally renamed by the board.
So the board appears to have found another option: Don’t rename the building. Just put Trump’s name underneath it.
Technically different.
Politically, not exactly subtle.
