Donald Trump's efforts to take over the Kennedy Center have generated no end of controversy, but according to writer Michael Wolff, inside sources said that he wanted to take things even further than he has.
Early on in Trump's second term, Trump purged the Kennedy Center's Board of Trustees and replaced them with loyalists, who late last year approved a measure to add the president's name to the art center's name. Despite such a change being illegal without congressional approval, the outside of the structure was nonetheless altered to show its name, "The Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts," a move that accelerated the trend of artists canceling their scheduled performances at the venue.
Amid the mounting backlash, Trump announced last weekend that the Kennedy Center would be closing for two years, starting on July 4, for an extended period of renovations. The president claimed that the center's disrepair had necessitated the closure, but those familiar with the building have pushed back, arguing that it is still in excellent working order and was already renovated six years ago. Critics claim the closure is actually a cover for the lack of performances the center is now contending with.
Wolff is a veteran reporter and author best known for his book Fire & Fury, a behind-the-scenes account of the tumultuous first Trump administration. Speaking on the latest addition of his Daily Beast podcast, "Inside Trump's Head, he reported that Trump's initial plans to reshape the Kennedy Center in his image went even further, according to inside sources at the White House.
"His first idea was to call this the Trump Center,” Wolff told his podcast co-host, Joanna Coles, adding that Trump asked, “Why does this have to be Kennedy? That was such a long time ago.”
Sources also claimed that Trump presented what the Daily Beast characterized as a "jaw-dropping" justification for adding his name to the building alongside Kennedy's.
“I was almost assassinated," Trump asserted, according to Wolff. "Therefore, it should be me."
Wolff continued, explaining how the current situation resulted from staffers attempting to walk him back from his initial impulse.
“You can’t say, ‘This is a terrible idea. This is a megalomaniacal idea. This is not good politics.’ You just cannot say any of that stuff to Trump,” Wolff said. “So instead, they said, ‘Well, why don’t we call it the Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Center?’”
Wolff concluded, "It’s a perfect Trump setup. He goes for the absurd, and he settles for the outlandish."