President Donald Trump’s name has officially been removed from the Kennedy Center, drawing cheers from crowds and relief from longtime patrons who said they were “disgusted” when it first appeared.
After taking control of the Kennedy Center’s board, Trump’s allies added the president’s name to the iconic venue and rebranded it as the Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.
Critics soon challenged the change, arguing Congress had already established the institution as a memorial to President John F. Kennedy.
The challenge soon escalated beyond public criticism.
In late May, those objections gained traction when U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled that the name change violated federal law.
“The Kennedy Center’s organic statute makes crystal clear that the Center is to be named for President Kennedy,” Cooper wrote in his opinion, referring to the building that opened in 1971 in memory of the US president who was assassinated in 1963. “Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it.”
The judge ordered officials to remove the additional lettering from the building’s front entrance within two weeks.
Trump’s name stripped
After an appeals court rejected a last-minute effort to delay the ruling, workers arrived at the Kennedy Center early on June 13 to carry out the order.
Large tarps were draped across portions of the building as crews worked to remove the 18 letters that had been added to the front portico, so – as one onlooker suggested – “people don’t enjoy…watching that.”
The move drew a crowd of people, including critics of the name change who gathered outside the center to watch Trump’s name come down.
Some chanted “Take it down,” while others applauded the workers carrying out the court order.
“I just wanted to see (Trump’s) name gone,” JoAnn Jones told CNN. “When a person wants to put their name on a building that you had nothing to do with, you did no work, you just, you don’t deserve it.”
Jones, a patron of the Kennedy Center since 2007, said she felt “disgust” when Trump’s name was first added.
“I don’t know if I was even angry. I was just disgusted that somebody thinks, who thinks and want to, to use their power to get what they want even though they don’t deserve it,” she said.
Former John F. Kennedy Presidential Library employee Jon Knepp also welcomed the ruling, telling CNN it was time to “get rid of the nonsense of just slapping your name on stuff that doesn’t belong to you.”
‘Fight for the Kennedy family’
The court victory was celebrated by Ohio Representative Joyce Beatty, who helped lead the legal challenge.
“We know we’re on the right side of justice and the law,” Beatty said, while cheers from onlookers echoed around her. “No matter what happens, we’re going to continue to fight for the Kennedy family.”
After the 80-year-old president’s name had been removed, Beatty shared on Instagram a clip of her from inside the arts center, mimicking Trump’s dance moves to the tune of the Village People’s YMCA – the song the president danced to during his campaign rallies – with the caption: “POV: When you protect the Kennedy Center.”
She added: “Am I doing the dance right, Trump?”
Trump supporters won’t back down
Despite the setback, Trump’s allies insist the fight is far from over.
Roma Daravi, the Kennedy Center’s vice president of public relations and a member of Trump’s handpicked leadership team, argued that the board plans to continue challenging the ruling.
“We remain committed to pursuing every lawful avenue to ensure the Trump Kennedy Center is restored as a national cultural landmark for all Americans to enjoy,” Daravi said, per BBC.
She added that the organization remains “confident” an appeals court will “uphold the Board’s will to recognize President Trump’s historic contributions to our nation’s cultural center.”
‘Rat and bug infested’ building
The legal fight extends beyond the name itself. Judge Cooper’s ruling also temporarily blocked a Trump-backed proposal to shut down the Kennedy Center for two years while a major renovation was carried out.
Inn August 2025, Trump had enthusiastically promoted the overhaul, writing on Truth Social: “Tremendous work is being done, and money being spent, on bringing it back to the absolute top level of luxury, glamour, and entertainment. It had fallen on hard times, physically, but will soon be making a major comeback!!!”
But, after the court stepped in, Trump lashed out at the decision online, accusing the judge – who he called “Barack Hussein Obama Judge named Christopher Cooper” – of blocking improvements to what he described as a “rusted, rotted, and rat and bug infested” building.
“The new Building would have been incomparable,” Trump argued.
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