The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts was publicly renamed the “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts” after the center's board voted on the matter on Thursday.
“The Kennedy Center Board of Trustees voted unanimously today to name the institution The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts," Center spokeswoman Roma Daravi announced in a statement released following the vote.
"The new Trump Kennedy Center reflects the unequivocal bipartisan support for America’s cultural center for generations to come.”
The Center did not respond to questions regarding whether congressional approval was sought out or required for the name change.
Trump expressed that he was “honored” and “surprised” by the board's decision during an event in the Oval Office later that day. “This was brought up by one of the distinguished board members, and they voted on it. There are a lot of board members, and they voted unanimously,” he stated.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt commented on the name change on X posting, "Congratulations to President Donald J. Trump, and likewise, congratulations to President Kennedy, because this will be a truly great team long into the future!"
Quick switch
By Thursday afternoon, the center’s website header was updated to say “The Trump Kennedy Center,” and workers at the Kennedy Center began adding Donald Trump’s name to the arts venue by Friday.
"We saved the building," Trump remarked. "The building was in such bad shape, both physically and financially, and in every other way."
Trump has often jokingly referred to the performing arts center as the “Trump Kennedy Center.”
He most recently made this reference again when he hosted the annual Kennedy Center Honors earlier that month, where he called it the "Trump Kennedy Center" from the stage.
This is not the first instance in which the President has had his name added to buildings in Washington. His administration recently added his name to the United States Institute of Peace building near the White House.
US Representative Joyce Beatty, a Democrat and ex-officio board member, stated that she did not have the opportunity to voice her opposition during the meeting. "For the record, this was not unanimous. I was muted on the call and was not allowed to speak," she wrote on X.
Beatty, along with other ex officio members such as Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, claimed that participants were prevented from speaking during the meeting. Ex officio board members hold their positions due to their government roles and through an act of Congress.
"Beyond using the Kennedy Center to reward his friends and political allies, President Trump is now trying to affix his name to yet another public institution without legal authority," they said in a statement. "Federal law established the Center as a memorial to President Kennedy and prohibits changing its name without Congressional action."
The Kennedy Center was officially designated as a memorial to former president John F. Kennedy just two months after his assassination. This designation was enacted through an Act of Congress signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on January 23, 1964. The legislation recognized the nation’s National Cultural Center as a living memorial to former president Kennedy, honoring his commitment to promoting the performing arts in the United States.