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The letters spelling out U.S. President Donald Trump’s name on the facade of the Kennedy Center are now gone, the executive director of the performing arts venue said in a legal filing on Saturday with the court that had ordered the removal.
A tarp continued to hang over the scaffolding constructed for workers to remove Trump’s name from the building in Washington, D.C., making it impossible to immediately detect whether the only words remaining on its white marble portico are “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.”
Matt Floca, who is also the centre’s chief operating officer, told the court that he was a “responsible official of the Kennedy Center” qualified to certify compliance with the order.
He wrote that the board of trustees and the centre have removed “all physical signage on the Kennedy Center building and grounds, including the front portico, that purports to rename the Kennedy Center after President Trump.”
That declaration to U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper came after a day of legal manoeuvres and thunderstorms, and hours after workers had begun the process of removing the Republican president’s name.
As It Happens6:23Trump’s Kennedy Center renovations are an ‘absurd’ cover-up, says architect
First, U.S. President Donald Trump added his own name to the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., which caused a series of performers to cancel their appearances at the prestigious venue in protest. Now, Trump says he’s closing it for two-year long renovations, alleging the building is “in very bad shape.” Steven Holl, the architect who designed the venue’s 2019 expansion, told As It Happens host Nil Kökal that’s simply not true.
The workers started hours past the original court-ordered deadline, later extended to noon ET, and did their work shrouded by the tarp — much to the frustration of onlookers who had gathered for hours hoping to witness a dramatic moment symbolizing the limits of Trump’s power.
Dozens of people spent hours Friday on the plaza in front of the Kennedy Center taking pictures and cheering occasionally as they broke into chants of “take it down.”
Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty, an ex-officio board member who sued to have Trump’s name removed from the building, was spotted at one point on the plaza.
Earlier Friday afternoon, a judge rejected a request to pause the court-ordered deadline. The institution appealed that ruling, an effort that was also rebuffed Friday evening.
After ignoring the Kennedy Center for much of his first term, Trump has wielded tremendous influence over the venue during his return to office.
Just a month into his second term, he ousted the centre’s previous leadership and replaced it with a board of trustees that named him chairman. Trump’s name was quickly added to the building.
In his ruling that only Congress could make changes to the Kennedy Center’s name, Cooper also blocked the administration from closing the cultural and arts venue for major renovations that had been planned to start in July and last for two years.
The Kennedy Center’s leadership argued in its appeal on Friday that the renovation was badly needed and accused the lower court, in terms that seemed similar to Trump’s speech patterns, of interfering in the effort.
“The District Court is not allowing us to close in order to properly fix up and repair the building, including potentially life-threatening structural damage like beams and parking garage ceilings that are rusted, and in serious danger of falling onto people below,” according to the appeal. “Indeed, total collapse!”
Even as the Kennedy Center has fought efforts to remove Trump’s name from the building, it has taken steps to comply with Cooper’s initial ruling.
A June 4 memo to staff from the Kennedy Center’s Office of General Counsel said email signatures, letterhead and other documents must reflect the name as “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts” or “Kennedy Center.”
The Kennedy Center’s website has dropped Trump’s name. And an earlier email sent to members offering ticket packages for the June 28 Mark Twain Award for American Humor ceremony came from the Kennedy Center without including Trump’s name.
Singer-songwriter Kristy Lee joins Hanomansing Tonight to discuss her decision to cancel an upcoming performance at the Kennedy Center after a board appointed by U.S. President Donald Trump added his name to the building. She says American history is being treated like something you can ban, erase, rename or rebrand for somebody else’s ego.
Trump continues to reshape U.S. capital
While the removal of his name marks a setback for Trump, he is moving forward with plans to reshape the physical landscape of the nation’s capital in ways that have few modern parallels.
He demolished the East Wing of the White House and is building a controversial ballroom in its place. He remodelled the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and plans extensive renovations of a golf course in East Potomac Park — moves that could significantly reduce the public’s access to running and biking paths.
He is also moving forward with a triumphal arch that will sit near Arlington National Cemetery across the Potomac River in Virginia.
And as Trump’s name was being removed from the Kennedy Center, the South Lawn of the White House has been transformed into a venue for a UFC match intended to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence but also coinciding with Trump’s birthday on Sunday.