It’s a tale we’ve grown used to over the past decade: President Donald Trump didn’t get what he wanted, so he’s taking it out on a government institution.
On Sept. 15, a federal court ruled that Trump could not add his name to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, saying Congress must approve the change first. Following this, the center’s board voted to close the institution for renovations – which Trump says will only happen if he’s allowed to put his name on the building.
“The closing will take place immediately, however, the Renovation and Reconstruction, which is a very large and complex job, cannot begin until such time as the D.C. Circuit rules on the Board’s approved name,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “If the ruling is a negative
one, which it should not be, and is not overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Reconstruction and the Renovation of The Kennedy Center will not take place.”
Classic Trump. He isn’t being praised as the supreme leader of the United States, so he's trying to force his own legacy instead of letting history do it. Now, a storied performing arts center vital to our nation’s culture is falling into disrepair, and he refuses to pay the bill because he didn’t get his way.
It’s unbecoming of a president, but Trump doesn’t care about that. The only thing he cares about is cementing himself as the nation’s first perfect president, despite low approval ratings, a flailing economy and the objective cruelty he’s inflicted upon marginalized groups.
Congress approved Kennedy Center funding. Trump doesn't care.
While the Kennedy Center did get $257 million through Congress’ appropriations bill in 2025, Trump refuses to let that money go through if his name isn’t on the front. It’s selfish, it’s egotistical, it’s our president.
It’s the latest example of him “fixing something” by putting his likeness on it. It’s why he’s renovating the East Wing of the White House into a ballroom. It’s why he tore up the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and has made plans to build an arch in Washington, DC. These things may have needed structural repairs, but they did not need a Trumpian takeover.
Despite the appropriations, the Kennedy Center is on the verge of bankruptcy, brought on in part because of a drop in revenue after Trump first added his name to the building, selected a new slate of board members and made himself chair of the organization.
Despite this, those Trump-appointed trustees say the dire financial straits facing the Kennedy Center are due to previous financial mismanagement. They also say the only way to bring in more revenue is to keep Trump’s name on the building.
While the president is known for his love of Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals, he doesn’t care about the arts – especially if arts programming supported by the government has any hint of diversity, equity and inclusion practices.
Trump has proposed getting rid of the National Endowment for the Arts, and he canceled hundreds of grants in 2025. At the very least, if he cared about the arts, he would be funding the Kennedy Center renovations without a second thought toward his legacy, which, by the way, would be that he actually helped an American institution improve.
Trump and Republicans only care about having power
The decision to close the Kennedy Center followed a contentious meeting where the president reportedly berated Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, an ex officio Kennedy Center board member, for filing the lawsuit that has ultimately prevented Trump from tacking his name onto the building.
“He went into name-calling, from everything from trying to say that I was an obstructionist, I was dumb,” Beatty told MS Now. “He said, ‘I think you’re incompetent,’ and I said, ‘I know you’re incompetent.’”
She chalked it up to the president lashing out because he didn’t get his way, calling it a “tantrum.” That’s exactly what it is, and it’s what we’ve come to expect from the president.
Unfortunately, congressional Republicans don't seem too keen on stopping the president from his tyrannical outbursts – something we've also come to expect. I haven't seen a single GOP representative call out the potential withholding of funds at the Kennedy Center.
Whether it's because they don't actually care about the arts or because they fear angering the president, their spinelessness is a recurring factor that shows their only motivation is proximity to power. But for now, the fence at the Kennedy Center has gone up, and America is losing a slice of itself.
Follow USA TODAY columnist Sara Pequeño on Bluesky: @sarapequeno.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump's ego is closing the Kennedy Center. Nothing else. | Opinion
