WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Sunday (Feb 1) he will move to close Washington's Kennedy Centre performing arts centre for two years starting in July for construction, his latest proposal to upturn the storied venue since returning to the White House.
Trump's announcement on social media follows a wave of cancellations by leading performers, musicians and groups since the president ousted the previous leadership and added his name to the building. Trump made no mention in his post of the recent cancellations.
His proposal, announced days after the premiere of "Melania, " a documentary of the first lady was shown at the centre, he said was subject to approval by the board of the Kennedy Centre, which has been stocked with his hand-picked allies. Trump himself chairs the centre's board of trustees.
"This important decision, based on input from many Highly Respected Experts, will take a tired, broken, and dilapidated Centre, one that has been in bad condition, both financially and structurally for many years, and turn it into a World Class Bastion of Arts, Music, and Entertainment," Trump wrote in his post.
Neither Trump nor Kennedy Centre President Ric Grenell, a Trump ally, have provided evidence to back up their claims about the building being in disrepair, and last October, Trump had pledged the centre would remain open during renovations. In Sunday's announcement, Trump said the centre will close on July 4, when he said the construction would begin.
"Our goal has always been to not only save and permanently preserve the Centre, but to make it the finest Arts Institution in the world," Grenell said in a post, citing funds Congress approved for repairs.
"This will be a brief closure," Grenell said. "It desperately needs this renovation and temporarily closing the Centre just makes sense — it will enable us to better invest our resources, think bigger and make the historic renovations more comprehensive. It also means we will be finished faster."
The sudden decision to shutter and reconstruct the Kennedy Centre is sparking blowback as Trump disrupts the popular venue, which began as a national cultural centre but Congress renamed as a "living memorial" to President John F. Kennedy in 1964, in the aftermath of the slain president's death. Opened in 1971, it is open year-round as a public showcase for the arts, including the National Symphony Orchestra.
Since Trump returned to the White House, the Kennedy Centre is one of many Washington landmarks that he has sought to overhaul in his second term.
He demolished the East Wing of the White House and launched a massive US$400 million (S$508 million) ballroom project, is actively pursuing building a triumphal arch on the other side the Arlington Bridge from the the Lincoln Memorial, and has plans for Washington Dulles International Airport.
Leading performing arts groups have pulled out of appearances at the Kennedy Centre, most recently, composer Philip Glass, who announced his decision to withdraw his Symphony No. 15 "Lincoln" because he said the values of the centre today are in "direct conflict" with the message of the piece.
Last month, the Washington National Opera announced that it will move performances away from the Kennedy Centre in another high-profile departure following Trump's takeover of the US capital's leading performing arts venue.
The head of artistic programming for the centre abruptly left his post last week, less than two weeks after being named to the job.
A spokesperson for the Kennedy Centre could not immediately be reached and did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
Late last year, as Trump announced his plan to rename the building — erecting his name on the building's main front ahead of that of Kennedy — he drew sharp opposition from members of Congress, and some Kennedy family members.
Kerry Kennedy, a niece of John F. Kennedy, said in a social post on X at the time that she will remove Trump's name herself with a pickax when his term ends.
Another family member, Maria Shriver, said at the time that it is "beyond comprehension that this sitting president has sought to rename this great memorial dedicated to President Kennedy," her uncle. "It is beyond wild that he would think adding his name in front of President Kennedy's name is acceptable. It is not."
Late Sunday evening, Shriver posted a new comment mimicking Trump's own voice and style, and suggesting the closure of the venue was meant to deflect from the cancellations.
She said that "entertainers are cancelling left and right" and the president has determined that "since the name change no one wants to perform there any longer."
Trump has decided, she said, it's best "to close this centre down and rebuild a new centre" that will bear his name. She asked, "right?"
One lawmaker, Rep. Joyce Beatty, the Ohio Democrat and ex-officio trustee of the centre's board, sued in December, arguing that "only Congress has the authority to rename the Kennedy Centre."
On Sunday, Beatty said that once again Trump "has acted with total disregard for Congress," which allocates funds to the centre.
She questioned what comes next for the artists — and the building itself. "Let's be clear: remodelling the premises will not restore the Kennedy Centre to what it was. A return to artistic independence will," she said. "America's artists are rejecting this attempted takeover, and the administration knows it."
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Source: Associated Press
