The addition of Donald Trump’s name to the Kennedy Center is still a violation of federal law, a judge ruled Tuesday. Judge Christopher Cooper of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled on an emergency motion seeking to block the board of the Kennedy Center — which is comprised of Trump loyalists — from adding his name in other places on the building and its grounds.
The performing arts center complied with his order, and since then a tarp has covered the front façade. Despite that, Cooper wrote in the ruling, “the drama at the Kennedy Center continues. Despite the Court’s order, on August 13, 2026, the Board passed a resolution ‘to recognize and honor President Trump’s current and future existential and unprecedented contributions to the survival of the Center’ in three different ways.” Per the board’s resolution, on the façade below its official name, “The John F.
Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts,” there would be an additional line reading “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump.” The board also voted to designate “the physical site and grounds upon which the center sits” as the “President Donald J. Trump Plaza.” Cooper granted the motion filed by Rep.
Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), who had originally sued the Kennedy Center and Trump over the renaming, to block the proposed additions. Beatty is “entitled to enforcement of the Court’s injunction, which reflects Congress’s decision to memorialize President Kennedy, and no one else, at the Center bearing his name,” Cooper wrote. A copy of the decision is available at this link.
In his ruling earlier this spring, Cooper also granted Beatty’s request for a preliminary injunction to block Trump from taking any further steps to close the institution. Trump had previously proclaimed that the Kennedy Center would shut down for two years starting July 4, 2026, to undergo a “complete rebuilding.” Trump, in a post Tuesday on his Truth Social account, said the Kennedy Center was in a dangerous state of disrepair when he returned to the White House in 2025. I also have the strength and power of the Presidency, which will be needed do what must be done, and give it a strong shot at Greatness again!” he wrote.
Trump continued, “A very hostile and conflicted Judge (What else is new?) seems like he won’t let that happen, in which case, unfortunately, the Building is destined to doom. We have already wasted more than 6 months ‘playing around’ in Court. Time is our Enemy!” He added that the Kennedy Center board is meeting again Tuesday: “It will be interesting to see what happens!” Variety has reached out to reps from the Kennedy Center for comment.
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