WASHINGTON (7News) — From the Oval Office on Friday, President Donald Trump claimed that no one but his administration could save and renovate the Kennedy Center. Not long after, protesters started gathering outside the venue over fears that it would be demolished.

This declaration came days after the center’s Trump-backed board voted to close the venue, a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy, for renovations that the administration said were much needed. But concerns grew after an AFP photographer captured an image that appeared to show the President reading a placard that appeared to include the words “Kennedy Center DEMOLISHED”.

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“The Trump administration, if I’m willing and the administration is willing, we have a lot of people working very hard on it to save it,” the President said from the Oval Office when asked by a Reporter. “I can save it easily. But why should we be doing that and then raise money for the rest of our lives to keep it afloat, because that’s what you have to do, if we get no recognition?”

Friday afternoon, thousands gathered outside the federally operated performing arts venue to condemn the president’s recent actions. The event, sponsored by Hands off the Arts, was described by organizers as a “joyful gathering centered on uplifting the Kennedy Center, her staff, and all the artists past, present and future who have graced her stages.”

“The Board of Trustees, under the chairman’s leadership, have failed in their duty to the institution. The Center, a formerly dynamic and lively arts hub, sits nearly dormant,” organizers for the event wrote on an event page. “The impact is felt beyond the empty stages – as a top provider of arts education across the country, the impact of the Board’s mismanagement will be felt in communities nationwide.”

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Those who attended at one point locked hands and formed a human chain around the center.

In a statement to ABC News, a White House spokesperson blamed Democrats for the Center’s condition and said, “As President Trump said last night, without his intervention, The Kennedy Center will inevitably continue to decline.”

The president has claimed, along with lawyers for the center and its current CEO, that Trump’s name would also help prevent the venue from being in financial ruin.

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THE ONGOING SAGA

The president’s comments on Friday were parallel to those made the day before, but continue weeks of uncertainty over the venue’s fate as he looks to carve his name into it despite needing congressional approval.

Since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, the 79-year-old has targeted several locations around the nation’s capital for renovations, typically with the hopes of adding his signature flair.

But the Kennedy Center, which he left alone in his first term, has remained among his top project priorities. Trump and members of the administration repeatedly argued the venue desperately needs $257 million worth of renovations and repairs.

Videos and pictures taken inside the venue earlier this year showed some of the building’s condition. On Sept. 4, video obtained by 7News showed a portion of the ceiling in the grand foyer that fell due to storms.

But critics have voiced concerns over several attempts to add his name to the venue, all of which a judge struck down.

In December, the Trump-appointed Kennedy Center board voted in December to rebrand the venue as the “Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts” or “Trump-Kennedy Center.”

A judge ruled in May to remove Trump’s name from the branding.

Trump wrote on social media on Tuesday that renovations would not take place unless his name is added back to the building.