(AFP) – The White House announced Thursday that Washington’s iconic John F. Kennedy arts center is to be renamed the “Trump-Kennedy Center” after President Donald Trump. The extraordinary naming of a major cultural venue after a living president is just the latest effort by the 79-year-old Republican to stamp his identity on the US capital in his second term. He has also demolished the White House East Wing in order to install a grand ballroom and is seeking to construct a large triumphal arch.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Kennedy Center’s board — which Trump purged of Democrats earlier this year before installing himself as chairman — had “voted unanimously” for the change. She said it was “because of the unbelievable work President Trump has done over the last year in saving the building. Not only from the standpoint of its reconstruction but also financially, and its reputation.”
“Congratulations to President Donald J. Trump, and likewise, congratulations to President Kennedy, because this will be a truly great team long into the future! The building will no doubt attain new levels of success and grandeur,” she added. The towering white monument is named after president John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963. The center, which sits on the banks of the Potomac River, opened in 1971.
Trump has made a number of references to renaming the center in recent months. Earlier this month at the opening of a peace institute that had also been renamed after him, Trump referred to it as the “Trump-Kennedy Center,” before adding: “Whoops, excuse me.”
During his first term, billionaire Trump never attended the annual fundraising gala for recipients of the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors, as many of those artists vocally opposed his policies. This time, Trump moved quickly to make the center his own, ridding the board of trustees of its Democratic appointees and ousting its president, as part of a wider assault on federally funded cultural institutions he deemed too “woke.”
Trump then presented the honors this year himself, giving awards to “Rocky” actor Sylvester Stallone, disco legend Gloria Gaynor, and rock band KISS. A few days earlier, at the draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup on December 5, Trump received a new peace prize from football’s governing body and made a speech on stage.
© 2024 AFP
