Donald Trump made the surprise announcement over the weekend that the Kennedy Center would be closing down for a years-long renovation project, with an analysis from The New Republic stating that this move came after the center's prestigious image had "fallen apart" due to his meddling.
The president announced in a Truth Social post Sunday evening that the center, which he had recently attempted to add his own name to, would be shutting down for a two-year period starting on July 4, "in honor of the 250th Anniversary of our Country," in order to conduct a two-year renovation he deemed necessary after a "year review."
“Financing is completed, and fully in place!” Trump's post read. “This important decision, based on input from many Highly Respected Experts, will take a tired, broken, and dilapidated Center, one that has been in bad condition, both financially and structurally for many years, and turn it into a World Class Bastion of Arts, Music, and Entertainment, far better than it has ever been before.”
Despite his stated reasoning for the closure, the move was widely interpreted as a retreat by Trump after his meddling and attempts to insert himself into the Kennedy Center's image caused artists to cancel the performances there en masse. In addition to forcing his own name onto the center, which cannot be legally done without congressional approval, Trump also filled the center's board with loyalists and claimed that he would reshape its entertainment offerings to fit his own political agenda.
In its own analysis of the situation from Monday, The New Republic pinned the blame on the closure and the Kennedy Center's tarnished reputation squarely on the president.
"Long before Trump’s meddling, the Kennedy Center was widely considered a premier, world-class arts institution," the outlet explained. "But since the White House became directly involved in its operations and programming, its normally star-studded lineup has fallen apart."
The New Republic also cited responses to the move from the family of former President John F. Kennedy, whom the center was originally named for.
“I’ve determined that due to this change in schedule, it’s best for me to close this center down and rebuild a new center that will bear my name, which will surely get everybody to stop talking about the fact that everybody’s canceling… right?” Maria Shriver, Kennedy's niece, wrote in a post X.
Jack Schlossberg, Kennedy's grandson who is currently running for Congress in New York, also weighed in.
“Trump can take the Kennedy Center for himself. He can change the name, shut the doors, and demolish the building. He can try to kill JFK,” Schlossberg wrote in his own post to X. “But JFK is kept alive by us now rising up to remove Donald Trump, bring him to justice, and restore the freedoms generations fought for.”
