{"id":498689,"date":"2026-06-14T03:40:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T03:40:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/498689\/"},"modified":"2026-06-14T03:40:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T03:40:14","slug":"workers-remove-trumps-name-from-kennedy-centre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/498689\/","title":{"rendered":"Workers remove Trump\u2019s name from Kennedy Centre"},"content":{"rendered":"

The letters spelling out President Donald Trump\u2019s name on the fa\u00e7ade of the Kennedy Centre are now gone, the executive director of the performing arts venue said in a legal filing on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Tarp continued to hang over the scaffolding constructed for workers to remove Mr Trump\u2019s name from the building, making it impossible to immediately detect whether the only words remaining on its white marble portico are \u201cThe John F Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts\u201d.<\/p>\n

Matt Floca, who is also the centre\u2019s chief operating officer, told the court that he was a \u201cresponsible official of the Kennedy Centre\u201d qualified to certify compliance with the order.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/Workers have since completed the work to remove Donald Trump\u2019s name (Cliff Owen\/AP)\n<\/p>\n

He wrote that the board of trustees and the centre have removed \u201call physical signage on the Kennedy Centre building and grounds, including the front portico, that purports to rename the Kennedy Centre after President Trump\u201d.<\/p>\n

That declaration to US District Judge Christopher Cooper came after a day of legal manoeuvres and thunderstorms, and hours after workers had begun the process of removing the Republican president\u2019s name.<\/p>\n

They started hours past the original court-ordered deadline, later extended, and did their work shrouded by the tarp, much to the frustration of onlookers who had gathered for hours hoping to witness a dramatic moment symbolising the limits of Mr Trump\u2019s power.<\/p>\n

The removal of Mr Trump\u2019s name closes one of the more unusual chapters in the history of the Kennedy Centre, which began construction in 1964 and was dedicated to the memory of the slain president, Democrat John F Kennedy.<\/p>\n

At what is typically one of the few relatively non-partisan spaces in Washington, Mr Trump has wielded tremendous influence over the venue during his second term.<\/p>\n

Though he rarely discussed the Kennedy Centre during his 2024 campaign, Mr Trump moved quickly to oust the institution\u2019s leadership when he returned to office in January 2025 and replaced it with a board of trustees that named him chairman. His name was quickly added to the building.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/A tarp continued to cover the wall where workers removed the name (Cliff Owen\/AP)\n<\/p>\n

While the removal of his name marks a setback for the president, he is moving forward with plans to reshape the physical landscape of the nation\u2019s capital in ways that have few modern parallels.<\/p>\n

He demolished the East Wing of the White House and is building a controversial ballroom in its place. He remodelled the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and plans extensive renovations of a golf course in East Potomac Park, moves that could significantly reduce the public\u2019s access to running and cycle paths.<\/p>\n

He is also moving forward with a triumphal arch that will sit near Arlington National Cemetery across the Potomac River in Virginia.<\/p>\n

Indeed, as Mr Trump\u2019s name was being removed from the Kennedy Centre, the South Lawn of the White House has been transformed into a venue for a UFC match intended to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence, but also coinciding with Mr Trump\u2019s birthday on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Back at the Kennedy Centre, there are many questions about the institution\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

The same May court decision that ordered Mr Trump\u2019s name to be removed from the building also blocked a planned two-year closure for renovations that was set to begin next month.<\/p>\n

The Kennedy Centre\u2019s calendar for the weeks ahead includes performances of Moulin Rouge! The Musical and Bluey\u2019s Big Play.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/The institution also suggested that the president\u2019s name could return to the building if the Kennedy Centre later wins its appeal (Rahmat Gul\/AP)\n<\/p>\n

Comedian Bill Maher is to be awarded the Mark Twain Award for American Humour during a ceremony on June 28.<\/p>\n

But little is scheduled for the stages beyond that and, after substantially reducing staff, it is unclear how quickly the Kennedy Centre could build out a robust performance list.<\/p>\n

Mr Trump, angered by the court\u2019s order to remove his name, has said he would turn the Kennedy Centre over to Congress and has suggested it might simply shutter because of public safety concerns.<\/p>\n

In its unsuccessful appeal on Friday seeking a pause on the order removing Mr Trump\u2019s name, the Kennedy Centre\u2019s leadership argued, in terms that seemed similar to the president\u2019s speech patterns, that the lower court was interfering with needed renovations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe District Court is not allowing us to close in order to properly fix up and repair the building, including potentially life-threatening structural damage like beams and parking garage ceilings that are rusted, and in serious danger of falling onto people below,\u201d according to the appeal. \u201cIndeed, total collapse!\u201d<\/p>\n

The institution also suggested that the president\u2019s name could return to the building if the Kennedy Centre later wins its appeal.<\/p>\n

If the court denied the venue\u2019s request for a pause, the Kennedy Centre argued it would \u201cbe forced to squander time and money \u2014 by both removing the signage and then potentially returning it after appeal\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The letters spelling out President Donald Trump\u2019s name on the fa\u00e7ade of the Kennedy Centre are now gone,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":498690,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-498689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498689","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=498689"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498689\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/498690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=498689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=498689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=498689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}