Trump didn't get his name on the iconic DC center - and is shutting it down: "He screamed, it was crazy"
US President Donald Trump closed the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington after a federal judge ruled once again that his name cannot be added to the center without congressional approval. The board of directors, most of whose members were appointed by Trump, voted for an immediate closure citing severe safety deficiencies, but Trump made it clear that renovations are conditional on adding his name.
The saga surrounding Donald Trump's attempts to take over the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., reached a new peak this evening (Tuesday) when the center's board of directors, most of whose members were appointed by Trump, voted to close the complex. The decision came just hours after a federal judge ruled once again that adding Trump's name to the center is illegal without congressional approval. Judge Casey Cooper wrote in his ruling that "in simple terms, the respondents cannot place monuments to President Trump, or to any other person or thing, at the Kennedy Center without congressional approval." Trump made it clear that the renovations, presented as necessary due to severe safety deficiencies, will not go ahead if his name is not added to the center. CNN reported that the discussion was heated, and Trump called and confronted Democratic Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, whose petition blocked the changes. A source told the network that Trump "screamed," and another source described the confrontation as "crazy." The closure is described as immediate, but the administration will need to approach Judge Cooper to vacate a previous order preventing the closure. The Justice Department is expected to file a motion to that effect by Friday. Trump shared a video on Truth Social showing signs of corrosion and decay in the building, and wrote that $17 million raised by him had been transferred to the center's account.