President Donald Trump announced plans to close the John F. Kennedy Memorial Performing Arts Center for two years starting in July for renovations.
President Trump’s announcement Sunday follows a wave of cancellations by major performers, musicians and groups since the president ousted his former leadership and added his name to the building.
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President Trump did not mention the recent cancellations in his post.
“We have determined that the quickest way to elevate the Trump Kennedy Center to its highest level of success, beauty and grandeur is to cease entertainment operations for approximately two years,” he said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“Temporary closure will result in faster and higher quality results.”
The closures will begin on July 4, coinciding with the 250th Independence Day celebrations.
Trump said the decision must be approved by the company’s board of directors, which he hand-picked when he became chairman.
The president added that the complete temporary closure is necessary because the facility’s various entertainment events, including concerts, opera, musicals, ballet performances, and interactive art, can interfere with and delay construction and renovation work.
“Even if temporarily closed for construction, revitalization, and complete reconstruction, the Trump Kennedy Center could easily be the finest performing arts facility of its kind anywhere in the world.”
“America will be extremely proud of this new and beautiful landmark for generations to come.”
The Kennedy Center could not immediately be reached for comment.
The complex started out as the National Cultural Center, but was renamed by Congress as a “living monument” to former President John F. Kennedy in 1964 after his assassination.
Opened in 1971, it operates year-round as a public showcase for the arts, including the National Symphony Orchestra.
After Trump became the center’s director, several entertainers and performers canceled performances to protest the president’s policies.
These included the producers of the award-winning musical Hamilton and international operatic soprano Renée Fleming.
The Washington National Opera recently announced that it will be leaving the Kennedy Center, its home since the center’s opening.
Famed composer Philip Glass also announced the cancellation of the Abraham Lincoln Symphony Orchestra performance Wednesday, saying the center’s “values” “today” are “in direct contradiction” to the message of his work.
President Trump had criticized some of the once nonpartisan center’s programs as too “woke.”
The Kennedy Center recently hosted the premiere of a documentary about first lady Melania Trump, which set record numbers at the box office over the weekend, but received mostly negative reviews from film critics.
The extent of the “complete rebuild” Trump referred to is unclear, but he said the structure is aging and needs renovation.
Maria Kennedy Shriver, the slain former president’s niece, anonymously criticized President Trump’s decision in a post on X. She suggested that the closure and renovation may have been done to distract Americans because “no one wants to play there anymore.”
President Trump’s plan to rebuild the center follows a series of steps to rebuild America’s historical and cultural institutions.
He has demolished the East Wing of the White House, launched a massive $400 million ballroom project, is actively building the Arc de Triomphe on the other side of Arlington Bridge from the Lincoln Memorial, and has plans for Washington Dulles International Airport.
