Donald Trump has said the Kennedy Center will close for two years over plans that fuelled growing controversy over the Washington, D.C., arts venue.
The National Cultural Center opened in 1971 and was named after President John F. Kennedy as a “living memorial” to the president assassinated by Congress.
Mr Trump angered many people, including members of the Kennedy family, in December when the board he selected to run the venue supported the move to rename it. Trump-Kennedy Center.
The move followed a wave of cancellations by major artists, composers and groups, including the Washington National Opera and composer Philip Glass. Glass announces his decision to withdraw his Symphony No. 15. ‘Lincoln’ was based on center values that were in “direct conflict” with the message of the piece.
Now Mr. Trump has announced on social media that the historic site will be closed for construction for two years on July 4, subject to board approval. This comes just days after the premiere of his wife’s documentary, “Melania.”
“This important decision, based on input from many highly respected experts, will take a tired, broken, and dilapidated center that has been in poor condition economically and structurally for many years and transform it into a world-class bastion of arts, music, and entertainment,” the US president wrote on his “Truth Social” platform.
Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell has provided evidence.
Despite Trump’s pledge last October that it would remain open during renovations, neither Trump nor Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell has provided evidence to support claims that the building is in disrepair.
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Grenell said he was grateful to Congress for finding $257 million for the building and said it would be a short closure.
He said in a post on
On Sunday night, Kennedy family member Maria Shriver posted on social media that closing the venue was meant to deflect attention from the cancellation.
He said that “entertainers are cancelling left and right” and that the president has determined that “nobody wants to perform there anymore since the name change.”
Kerry Kennedy, niece of John F. Kennedy, has said in a social post on X that when his term ends, she herself will remove Trump’s name from the axe.
