Barbra Streisand Blasts Trump’s ‘Unchecked Ego’ After He Threatens to Demolish Kennedy Center

Barbra Streisand voiced her disapproval of President Donald Trump's "unchecked ego" on Thursday after he threatened to demolish the iconic Kennedy Center during a legal dispute to have his name branded on the building's exterior. The renowned singer-songwriter, who was honored at the 31st Kennedy Center Honors ceremony in 2008, published an impassioned statement on her website detailing the history of Trump's campaign to rename the historic performing arts center, originally built as a tribute to President John F. Kennedy.

Streisand's lengthy commentary traced Trump's efforts to rename the center all the way to his suggestion that it could be "ripped down" if he couldn't have his way, ultimately delivering a call-to-action for Americans to vote in the upcoming midterm elections. "The Kennedy Center was meant to pay tribute to a beloved president, and to advance his philosophy that artistic achievement was proof of a free society.

He believed that when the creative impulse cannot flourish freely, a society loses its vitality," Streisand wrote. "Yet another reason why it is so important that Americans exercise their right to vote in the upcoming midterm elections!" On Tuesday, following a federal judge's order to block Trump's attempt to have his name on the exterior of the performing arts center, the Trump-approved board for the organization voted to shut it down, citing renovations and financial instability.

"Oddly, when Trump’s name was still on the building, there was no discussion of closing it!," Streisand quipped. On Wednesday, Trump indicated that he would only assume control of the renovations once the building was closed if his administration received the proper "recognition" for their efforts. "For the Trump administration, for me, to get involved, and to take on long term, and to carry it, or to raise money to carry it, I think that the Trump administration should certainly have recognition," Trump told reporters.

"Because frankly, if we don’t do that, it’s going to close, it will end up being ripped down." Through Thursday, Streisand emphasized the "importance of art to the life of a democracy" and expressed how the ongoing effort led by Trump was "galling and painful to witness." "It is difficult not to think about what President Kennedy himself would have envisioned for the Center: not a monument frozen in time, but a living place where artists could challenge, inspire, provoke, and bring Americans together through the transformative power of the arts," she wrote.