Staff at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. have started to remove all references to Donald Trump.
In December last year, the Trump-appointed board of the arts venue voted to rename the institution to the ‘Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts’, or the ‘Trump-Kennedy Center’ in short.
In May, however, a US district judge ruled that the board had no authority to make that change because the centre’s name is fixed by federal statute and can only be amended by Congress. He ordered all references to Trump’s name to be removed from the building and the official name to be restored to the Kennedy Center.
Trump reacted angrily to the order, writing on social media that he would be “working with Congress to transfer this failing institution back to them”, and added that the “radical left would rather see it DIE than have President Trump transform it into something that everyone could be proud of”.
NOW: A federal judge has ordered that Donald Trump’s name be removed from the Kennedy Center and that officials halt their plan to close the venue for two years.
“The Kennedy Center’s organic statute makes crystal clear that the Center is to be named for President Kennedy, and… pic.twitter.com/kWJAbn43dC
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) May 29, 2026
This week, a memo was sent to staff at the institution directing employees to stop using Trump’s name in reference to the Kennedy Center on any formal communications or press materials. A deadline of June 12 was set to update all physical and digital signage too, with the letters in Trump’s name being removed from the exterior of the building.
Also this week, the Trump administration’s lawsuit against a jazz musician who cancelled his annual Christmas concert at the Kennedy Center in the aftermath of the name change was dismissed.
The venue’s president Richard Grenell had strongly criticised Chuck Redd’s decision and demanded $1million in damages for what he described as a “political stunt”, but on Friday (June 5), a judge ruled in Redd’s favour, citing Anti-SLAPP laws that protect defendants against meritless lawsuits and “political retribution”.
Ben Folds also wrote an open letter this week to rally support for the National Symphony Orchestra, who are based at the Kennedy Center. Folds resigned as the NSO’s artistic advisor in the light of Trump’s takeover, but has now said the orchestra “doesn’t have the luxury of time” to get back on its feet.
A string of performers have also withdrawn from the Trump-linked Freedom 250 events at the Washington State Mall’s 250th anniversary of American independence celebrations, which are scheduled to start at the end of this month.
Milli Vanilli, The Commodores, Bret Michaels, Young MC, Martina McBride and Morris Day & The Time have all pulled out, with many choosing to distance themselves once its political associations became clear.