The Kennedy Center’s executive director has extended the performing arts venue’s closure for another week, citing its state of disrepair, with the development coming after President Trump lost a legal battle to add his name to the building.
Executive Director Matt Floca said in a Wednesday court filing that the venue’s condition presents a safety risk due to falling plaster, water-damaged electrical systems and corrosion in the building’s overhanging roof that could endanger people in case of an emergency.
“Because the collection of information is ongoing and I remain concerned about the documented hazards and inability to provide safe egress at this time in light of those hazards, I will be extending the temporary closure for an additional week, until September 30, 2026, and will continue to reevaluate conditions and whether a closure remains necessary on a weekly basis,” Mr. Floca said in the filing.
A federal judge has already instructed the White House to provide 30-day notice if it decides to update its renovation plans for the Kennedy Center, which include Mr. Trump’s stated desire to tear down the venue’s main building.
The president said his interest in demolishing the performing arts center stemmed from the court’s decision to bar him from adding his name to it.
A judge ruled that the Trump administration violated the law when the center’s board — all of whom were installed by the president — voted to rename the building the “Trump-Kennedy” center and add his name to the venue.
The judge said renaming the center would require congressional approval, but the president was adamant his name should be on the facade to credit him for planned renovations.
“For the Trump administration, for me, to get involved, and to take on long-term, and to carry it, or to raise money to carry it, I think that the Trump administration should certainly have recognition,” Mr. Trump told reporters last week. “Because frankly, if we don’t do that, it’s going to close. It’ll end up being ripped down.”
The Department of Justice and Mr. Floca both said the temporary closure at the Kennedy Center is separate from the White House’s intention to shut the building down for two years and carry out larger-scale, $250 million capital improvements.
Mr. Trump’s fixation on the Kennedy Center has invited criticism from former presidents and starlets alike.
Former President Bill Clinton mocked Mr. Trump’s side quest by saying the country is “majoring in the minors” while speaking at the annual Clinton Global Initiative meeting Tuesday.
“You really think 100 years from now anybody’s going to care very much about whose name’s on what building?” Mr. Clinton said. “Isn’t it more important what happens in the building? And what happens outside the building?”
And actress Barbara Streisand was skeptical about the apparently sudden need for renovations after Mr. Trump lost his court battle about renaming the venue.
“You can easily imagine my indignation at seeing this revered institution become the subject of such a bitter struggle over one man’s name and unchecked ego,” she said in a statement.
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