Trump name removed from Kennedy Center: Overnight crews restore original historic title
(Donald J. Trump name removed from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts)
(June 13, 2026) After months of legal battles and political controversy, workers early Saturday removed Donald Trump’s name from the exterior of the “John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts,” restoring the landmark’s original title following a federal court order.
Construction crews began taking down the 18-letter addition — “The Donald J. Trump and” — shortly after 3 a.m. on June 13, hours after the Kennedy Center missed a court-imposed deadline to complete the work. By daybreak, the building was once again identified by the name it has carried since opening in 1971: “The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”
The overnight operation followed a series of legal defeats for the Kennedy Center’s Trump-aligned leadership. On Friday, both U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit rejected emergency requests to delay the ruling while the case moves through the appeals process.
Judge Cooper ruled on May 29 that the Kennedy Center’s December 2025 decision to rename the institution after Trump violated the 1964 federal law establishing the center as the nation’s official living memorial to President John F. Kennedy. In his opinion, Cooper wrote that Congress made clear the institution was intended to honor Kennedy alone and that only Congress—not the board of trustees—has the authority to change its name.
The renaming had been approved by a Kennedy Center board largely appointed by Trump after he reshaped the institution’s leadership. Trump’s name was added to the building’s marble façade less than a day after the board vote, a move that sparked backlash from members of the arts community, the Kennedy family and some lawmakers.
Representative Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), an ex officio member of the Kennedy Center board, challenged the decision in federal court, arguing that the trustees had exceeded their authority. Cooper ultimately agreed, ordering Trump’s name removed not only from the building but also from the center’s website, social media accounts, printed materials, gift shop merchandise and other branding.
Friday’s effort to remove the signage became a public spectacle. Hundreds of people gathered outside the iconic Washington arts venue, watching as scaffolding was erected beneath the sign and chanting “Take it down.” Despite periods of severe thunderstorms, demonstrators remained on site into the night, applauding after word spread that appellate judges had denied the final emergency appeal.
The Kennedy Center argued that weather delays slowed the project and requested additional time to comply. Justice Department attorneys representing the institution also contended that removing Trump’s name could jeopardize private fundraising efforts tied to a recently established “Trump Kennedy Center Fund,” potentially affecting hundreds of millions of dollars in pledged donations. Those arguments failed to persuade the courts.
The removal of the signage marks one of the most visible setbacks yet to Trump’s effort to remake the Kennedy Center. The broader legal dispute is not over, however. Appeals are expected to continue, and questions remain about the future of a proposed two-year closure of the center for renovations—another Trump-backed initiative that Cooper also temporarily blocked.
For now, though, the famous marble façade overlooking the Potomac River once again bears only the name it was intended to carry: a memorial to the nation’s 35th president.
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(Sources: USA Today, The Washington Post, CNN)
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
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