# Trump is Made Chair of the Kennedy Center **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [February 12, 2025, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-made-chair-of-the-kennedy-center/1014248 "2025-02-12T21:55:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 37
**Author:** ![Toxgoddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Toxgoddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxgoddess)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2026, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-made-chair-of-the-kennedy-center/1014248/721 "2026-09-16T18:45:10Z")
Maybe I am in the minority but I would rather close the building and leave it vacant than put Trump’s name on it. Let’s not give in again to the bully. The next Democratic president can re-open it to great fanfare. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2026, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-made-chair-of-the-kennedy-center/1014248/722 "2026-09-16T19:19:30Z")
I agree it should be restored under the next Democrat, but you just know the Dotard-in-Chief will bulldoze it rather than not have his name on it. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2026, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-made-chair-of-the-kennedy-center/1014248/723 "2026-09-16T19:55:07Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > That is a solid _“Pants on fire”_ there. How on earth could arguments over trumps name mean necessary repairs could not be done. I get the feeling from what I’ve read of the court decisions that the judge is _also_ rather skeptical of the claims made by Donald’s KC board. They don’t have a shred of logic behind them; as several have pointed out, the theory that putting Donald’s name on the place will result in a golden age of huge donations and top-name acts, has _ **already been tested** _ and proven to be bunk. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2026, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-made-chair-of-the-kennedy-center/1014248/724 "2026-09-17T12:28:22Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I agree it should be restored under the next Democrat, but you just know the Dotard-in-Chief will bulldoze it rather than not have his name on it. You know what? That would be fine, too, rather than give in to the idiot-in-chief. Add it to the list of things that need to be repaired/restored, along with restoring the east wing of the White House after demolishing the Trump ballroom, and restoring Memorial Circle after demolishing the Arc de Trump. And of course actually fixing the Reflecting Pool after Trump’s botched repairs. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2026, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-made-chair-of-the-kennedy-center/1014248/725 "2026-09-17T12:34:53Z")
The fencing goes up, the building – apparently – closes. And so it begins: > **[Fencing goes up around the main Kennedy Center building after Trump-aligned...](https://apnews.com/article/kennedy-center-fencing-trump-close-repairs-76857d537ec8cabd87be5065fb9428ac)** > > Fencing has gone up around the main Kennedy Center building, a day after the Trump-aligned board voted to close most of the performing arts center for repairs. I recently heard a pundit saying that we should stop “taking him seriously” and stop “taking him literally.” That, to me, is about the worst advice the world could ever consider. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2026, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-made-chair-of-the-kennedy-center/1014248/726 "2026-09-17T21:33:29Z")
Today a judge ordered 30 days notice before any demolition can take place. A photo is circulating of Donald looking at a poster-board graphic titled ominously: > [@](#): > > … U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper made his ruling the afternoon after President [Donald Trump](https://abcnews.com/alerts/donald-trump) was photographed looking over a placard that appeared to include the words “Kennedy Center DEMOLISHED” over what appeared to be an image of a demolition. The photo, taken through the windows of one of the Air Force One planes, is in the article. > **[Judge says Trump has to give 30 days notice before demolishing Kennedy Center](https://abcnews.com/Politics/trump-photographed-kennedy-center-demolishedplacard-amid-fight-venues/story?id=136519219)** > > A judge has directed the Trump administration to provide 30 days' notice of any changes in the Kennedy Center's renovation plans, including any planned demolition. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2026, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-made-chair-of-the-kennedy-center/1014248/727 "2026-09-17T22:12:13Z")
> [@Toxgoddess](#): > > Maybe I am in the minority but I would rather close the building and leave it vacant than put Trump’s name on it. Let’s not give in again to the bully. The next Democratic president can re-open it to great fanfare. I agree, but it looks like Trump is going to destroy it if he can’t put his name on it. I’d rather he destroy it than give in to him though. In the long run, as far as the destruction he’s raining down on the United States, this is small potatoes. ---
**Author:** ![Frazzled](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frazzled/32/3368_2.png) [@Frazzled](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frazzled)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2026, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-made-chair-of-the-kennedy-center/1014248/728 "2026-09-17T22:38:21Z")
I think Trump’s goal now is to tear it down and remove Kennedy’s name entirely. If he builds a new building it will simply be “The Donald J Trump center for the Performing Arts”. You know he has no intention of sharing a building with anybody else. And all of the rules about the name being ordained by Congress applies only to the old building. At least, I suspect that’s the “logic” he’s using. He’s going to do what he always does, he’ll find a way to bring the building down and start construction on a new one while the courts take their sweet time. In the end, it will be too late to do anything about it. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2026, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-made-chair-of-the-kennedy-center/1014248/729 "2026-09-17T22:41:57Z")
He seems to be taking lessons from gangsters, “Nice performing arts center you got there. It would be a shame if anything happened to it.” ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2026, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-made-chair-of-the-kennedy-center/1014248/730 "2026-09-17T22:42:35Z")
Ok, I’ll bite. How can Trump touch the Kennedy Center? It’s not a Federal Building, correct? For that matter, does the President have any aurhority over Federal Buildings? We have a big one in Little Rock. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2026, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-made-chair-of-the-kennedy-center/1014248/731 "2026-09-17T22:44:20Z")
He’s already touched it, you know. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2026, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-made-chair-of-the-kennedy-center/1014248/732 "2026-09-17T22:45:30Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > It’s not a Federal Building, correct? It is a Federal building. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2026, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-made-chair-of-the-kennedy-center/1014248/733 "2026-09-17T22:49:23Z")
I had heard the Kennedy Center was funded with private endowments. I learned otherwise today. I’ve wondered why Trump has any interest in the Kennedy Center. Hopefully the courts can stop him with injunctions. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2026, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-made-chair-of-the-kennedy-center/1014248/734 "2026-09-17T22:53:43Z")
The Kennedy Center was created by an act of Congress to memorialize a great president who died tragically. The Orange Buffoon has no authority to tear it down. If he threatens to do so the courts will block him, and if he tries to go ahead anyway he should – finally, at long last – be impeached and removed from office. ---
**Author:** ![Frazzled](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frazzled/32/3368_2.png) [@Frazzled](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frazzled)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2026, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-made-chair-of-the-kennedy-center/1014248/735 "2026-09-17T22:58:28Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > The Orange Buffoon has no authority to tear it down And yet last night on Air Force One we have a picture of him looking at a poster board about demolishing the Kennedy Center. He’s planning on doing exactly that. It galls me that he’s caused so much damage with not a single consequence. I fear in the end the Supreme Court will side with whatever he does. Edit to add - I know it’s already been posted but this is a link to the picture I mentioned above: [Trump Air Force One Photos Fuel Kennedy Center Demolition Speculation - The New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/17/us/politics/trump-kennedy-center-photos.html) ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2026, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-made-chair-of-the-kennedy-center/1014248/736 "2026-09-17T23:03:22Z")
> [@Frazzled](#): > > It galls me that he’s caused so much damage with not a single consequence. I fear in the end the Supreme Court will side with whatever he does. Something I’ve been wondering is if we can go after the contractors doing the work (can DC file state charges?). Clearly no one is going to do anything to Trump, but if contractors start getting fined/jailed for doing illegal/unpermitted work, maybe they’ll stop being so keen to accept these (illegal) government contracts. I assume that can’t be done or it seems like they would’ve already done it. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2026, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-made-chair-of-the-kennedy-center/1014248/737 "2026-09-17T23:06:32Z")
> [@Frazzled](#): > > It galls me that he’s caused so much damage with not a single consequence. I fear in the end the Supreme Court will side with whatever he does. I’m not so sure. I think we can be sure that the usual pair of lunatics – Thomas and Alito – will side with anything Trump does, but I’m less certain of the others. On the side of rationality we have, at least, the three liberal justices, Roberts, and, often, Amy Coney Barrett. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2026, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-made-chair-of-the-kennedy-center/1014248/738 "2026-09-17T23:08:44Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > The Kennedy Center was created by an act of Congress to memorialize a great president who died tragically. The Orange Buffoon has no authority to tear it down. If he threatens to do so the courts will block him, and if he tries to go ahead anyway he should – finally, at long last – be impeached and removed from office. I don’t think he cares what courts say any more, unless they rule in his favour. If a court issues an injunction to stop him, he’ll do whatever he wants to. Could he be charged with contempt for defying a court order? Normally, yes, but he’ll fall back on “presidential immunity,” and do what he wants anyway. I hope that after 2028, the United States takes a good hard look at itself, and makes obviously necessary changes, in legislation or even the constitution itself, so that no future president can run roughshod over norms, precedents, and guardrails that constrain power. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2026, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-made-chair-of-the-kennedy-center/1014248/739 "2026-09-17T23:09:01Z")
I was entering 7th grade when it opened in 1971. There was a lot of tv coverage I think there would be a strong case for a legal fight. [Kennedy Center](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_Center) > [@](#): > > Authorized by the National Cultural Center Act of 1958, which requires that its programming be sustained through private funds, the center represents a [public–private partnership](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public%E2%80%93private_partnership "Public–private partnership"). **Its activities include educational and outreach initiatives, almost entirely funded through ticket sales and gifts from individuals, corporations, and private foundations. The center receives annual federal funding to cover building maintenance and operations.** > > The original building, designed by [Edward Durell Stone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Durell_Stone "Edward Durell Stone"), is administered as a bureau of the [Smithsonian Institution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smithsonian_Institution "Smithsonian Institution"). ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2026, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-made-chair-of-the-kennedy-center/1014248/740 "2026-09-17T23:18:28Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Could he be charged with contempt for defying a court order? Normally, yes, but he’ll fall back on “presidential immunity,” and do what he wants anyway. He doesn’t have unlimited immunity. If he clearly exceeds his presidential authority, then he’s breaking the law. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-made-chair-of-the-kennedy-center/1014248.md?page=36) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-made-chair-of-the-kennedy-center/1014248.md?page=38)