Trump Defends Push to Add His Name to Kennedy Center
Trump defends renaming the Kennedy Center after himself, says he saved it, and calls the venue 'a dump' amid a court battle over his name on the building.
President Donald Trump on Friday defended his effort to have his name added to the Kennedy Center, arguing that he should be credited for rescuing Washington's leading performing arts venue. His remarks came after his takeover of the center was blamed for pushing it into financial trouble.
Speaking in the Oval Office during a health care event, with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. present, Trump did not directly answer when asked whether he intended to demolish the theater, a step he has previously threatened. He described the building as "a dump" and said he would "do a better job building it than anybody else."
Trump said the Kennedy Center would need continuing government support to remain open and suggested that raising the necessary funds would fall to him. "Why should I do everything and then for the rest of my life, have to go out and raise money?" he said. He also claimed that only he could have obtained the $257 million that Congress has approved for repairs to the center.
"I think the Trump administration should be recognized as having saved the Kennedy Center because nobody else could do it," Trump said, repeating a line he used days earlier while campaigning in North Carolina.
The center's board, which is aligned with the president, voted on Tuesday to close the venue indefinitely for repairs. That decision came hours after a judge blocked their plan to restore Trump's name to the building. On Thursday, the judge ordered the Kennedy Center to give 30 days' notice before making any major physical changes, including demolition.
Trump on Friday called U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper "a very hostile judge." Cooper had ruled that Trump's name was illegally added to the building and ordered it removed. The venue was designated by Congress as a memorial to President John F. Kennedy, the uncle of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
"I should be very careful because Bobby is standing right behind me," Trump said. "And I cherish that, too. I actually like the name of Kennedy and Trump, Trump and Kennedy, because it showed bipartisanship. It showed a Republican Party and a Democrat party working together."
Over the past year, a number of artists have canceled appearances at the Kennedy Center after the Trump-loyal board added his name to the facade, renaming it The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.