The curtain may have come down on President Donald Trump’s Kennedy Center, but for now the tarp remains up.
Matt Floca, the performing arts venue’s executive director and chief operating officer, said in federal court on Saturday (June 13) that the venue complied with an order to remove Trump’s name from its facade. Floca said in the filing that the board and the center have removed “all physical signage on the Kennedy Center building and grounds, including the main entrance, that purports to rename the Kennedy Center after President Trump.”
But it was virtually impossible for onlookers who gathered in the plaza in front of the center throughout the day to witness a dramatic moment symbolizing the limits of President Trump’s power to see whether the sign had disappeared. A tarpaulin was draped over the scaffolding erected for workers to do the work. It’s unclear when the tarp will be removed to reveal the original words that have endured for decades: “The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”
Reporters were able to peer through a small gap in the tarpaulin stretched tightly against the wall and saw that the letters of Trump’s name were not plastered on the building.
After all, Kennedy Center leadership had opposed a federal judge’s order to remove Trump’s name from the building. Two courts rejected the agency’s last-minute request to keep Trump’s name pending appeals. After severe thunderstorms hit Washington on Friday night, the Kennedy Center asked for one more extension before meeting a Saturday noon deadline.
Those who pushed for Trump’s name to be removed were in a celebratory mood. Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), an ex-officio member of the board who filed the lawsuit to remove references to the president from the building and center’s operations, was seen at the plaza late Friday and Saturday morning. She posted a video on social media purporting to show her doing the “Trump dance” in one of the Kennedy Center’s grand halls.
“Today’s victory is the beginning of returning the Kennedy Center to the American people,” Beatty said in a statement. “The spread of the rule of law is worth celebrating.”
Leo Bartholomas, a recent Syracuse University graduate who lives in Virginia, said he was walking near the Kennedy Center on Friday afternoon after visiting the National Mall to watch an event related to this weekend’s UFC fight at the White House. He said he wasn’t happy with President Trump adding his name to the building.
“My grandmother loved art,” he said. “I came here to see ‘The Lion King.’ I’ve never been a fan of Donald Trump bearing his name. I thought the Kennedy Center was better.”
The removal of Trump’s name closes one of the most unusual chapters in the history of the Kennedy Center, which began construction in 1964 and was dedicated to the memory of slain Democratic President John F. Kennedy. Trump has wielded tremendous influence over the venue, typically one of the few relatively nonpartisan venues in Washington, during his second term.
Trump barely discussed the Kennedy Center during his 2024 campaign, but when he returned to office in January 2025, he immediately moved to remove the agency’s leadership and install a board of trustees to replace him as president. His name was soon added to the building.
The name removal marks a setback for Trump, who is moving forward with plans to reshape the physical landscape of the nation’s capital in a way almost unparalleled in modern times.
He is demolishing the east wing of the White House and building a controversial ballroom in its place. He plans to renovate the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and overhaul the East Potomac Park golf course, moves that could significantly reduce public access to running and biking trails. He is also working on the Arc de Triomphe, located across the Potomac River in Virginia near Arlington National Cemetery.
In fact, while Trump’s name was removed from the Kennedy Center, the South Lawn of the White House was transformed into a UFC fight venue intended to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary, which also coincided with Trump’s birthday on Sunday.
Returning to the Kennedy Center, there are many questions about the future of the facility. The same May court ruling that ordered Trump’s name removed from the building also blocked plans for a two-year closure for renovations that were scheduled to begin next month.
The Kennedy Center’s calendar for the next few weeks includes Moulin Rouge performances. The Musical and Bluey’s Big Play. Comedian Bill Maher will receive the Mark Twain Award for American Humor at a ceremony on June 28th.
But little has been planned for subsequent steps, and it is unclear how quickly the Kennedy Center will be able to build a robust list of accomplishments after drastically reducing its staff. President Trump was outraged by the court’s order to remove the names, saying he would turn the Kennedy Center over to Congress and suggesting he might simply shut it down over public safety concerns.
In an unsuccessful appeal Friday to suspend President Trump’s name-removal order, Kennedy Center leaders argued that lower courts were blocking needed renovations with language that appeared to resemble the president’s speech pattern.
“The district court has not authorized the building to be closed for adequate repairs and repairs, including potentially life-threatening structural damage, including rusted beams and the parking garage ceiling, posing a significant fall hazard to those below,” the appeal states. “Exactly, annihilation!”
The organization also indicated that the president’s name could be returned to the building if the Kennedy Center later wins an appeal.
If the court rejects the venue’s request for a temporary suspension, the Kennedy Center argued that it would be forced to “remove the sign and potentially return it after an appeal, wasting time and money.”
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