The Kennedy Center Is Just Trump’s Latest Hostage
Donald Trump has in lurched, in short order, from would-be savior to abductor of the Kennedy Center, replacing vows to restore the facility’s greatness with a threat to demolish it if he can’t put his name on it. Construction crews fenced off the center on Wednesday, making it the latest in a series of Washington […]
Donald Trump's administration has treated the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. much like a hostage, shifting from promises of restoration to threats of demolition. Construction crews have encircled the center, making it the most recent in a string of Washington landmarks where Trump's grand renovation schemes have stalled, leaving public facilities closed to the public.
One D.C. resident likened the situation to "death by a thousand cuts." Trump told reporters that if his administration wasn't given credit for its efforts, the Kennedy Center could be "ripped down." However, a spokesperson for the center denied any demolition plans. US District Judge Christopher Cooper has ordered the administration to provide 30 days' notice before making any major changes to the building, including demolition.
Despite receiving $250 million in congressional funding and promising to elevate the facility, Trump has failed to improve the Kennedy Center, instead closing it and threatening to raze it. This mirrors a pattern of stalled projects plagued by legal challenges and construction flaws, with fences rising across the nation's capital, parks closed indefinitely, and the Kennedy Center emblematic of a strange courtship.
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