Trump says the Kennedy Center will close for two years for renovations in July, after a wave of cancellations

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Sunday he will move to close the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington for two years starting in July for construction, his latest proposal to improve the venue since returning to the White House.

Trump’s social media announcement comes on the heels of a wave of cancellations of major artists, musicians and groups since the president ousted previous leadership and added his name to the building. Trump did not mention the recent cancellations in his post.

He announced his proposal days after the premiere of “Melania,” a documentary about the first lady, at the center, and said it was subject to the approval of the Kennedy Center’s board of directors, which was filled with his hand-picked allies. Trump himself chairs the center’s board of trustees.

“This important decision, based on input from many respected experts, will transform the tired, broken, and dilapidated Center, which has been in disrepair, both financially and structurally, for many years, into a world-class bastion of the arts, music, and entertainment,” Trump wrote in his post.

Neither Trump nor Kennedy Center President Rick Grenell, a Trump ally, has provided evidence to support their claims that the building is in disrepair, and last October, Trump pledged that the center would remain open during renovations. In Sunday’s announcement, Trump said the center would close on the Fourth of July, when he said construction would begin.

“Our goal has always been to not only save and permanently preserve the center, but also to make it the finest arts institution in the world,” Grenell said in a post, citing money approved by Congress for repairs.

“This will be a short closure,” Grenell said. “We desperately need this renovation, and closing the center temporarily makes sense – it will enable us to invest our resources better, think bigger and make the historic renovations more comprehensive. It also means we will finish faster.”

The surprise decision to close and rebuild the Kennedy Center sparked backlash as Trump disrupted the popular venue, which began as a national cultural center but was renamed by Congress as a “living memorial” to President John F. Kennedy in 1964, in the wake of the slain president’s death. Opened in 1971, it is open year-round as a public gallery for the arts, including the National Symphony Orchestra.

Since Trump’s return to the White House, the Kennedy Center is one of several landmarks in Washington that he has sought to repair during his second term. He has demolished the East Wing of the White House and launched a massive $400 million ballroom project, is actively seeking to build the Arc de Triomphe across the Arlington Bridge from the Lincoln Memorial, and has plans for Washington Dulles International Airport.

Leading performing arts groups have withdrawn from appearing at the Kennedy Center, most recently composer Philip Glass, who announced his decision to withdraw his Symphony No. 15, “Lincoln,” because he said the center’s values ​​today “are in direct conflict” with the message of the piece.

Last month, the National Opera in Washington announced it would move its performances away from the Kennedy Center in another high-profile move following Trump’s takeover of the leading performing arts venue in the US capital.

He watches: ‘We can’t have arts institutions losing money’: Grenell defends Kennedy Center takeover

The center’s head of technical programming suddenly left his position last week, less than two weeks after he was appointed to the position.

A Kennedy Center spokesperson could not immediately be reached and did not respond to an email request for comment.

Late last year, when Trump announced his plan to rename the building — putting his name on the building’s main facade before Kennedy’s — he sparked sharp opposition from members of Congress, and some members of the Kennedy family.

Kerry Kennedy, John F. Kennedy’s niece, said in a social post on X at the time that she would personally take down Trump’s name with an ax when his term ended.

Maria Shriver, another family member, said at the time that it was “beyond comprehension that this sitting president would seek to rename this great memorial dedicated to President Kennedy,” her uncle. “It is beyond the ordinary for him to think that adding his name in front of President Kennedy’s name is acceptable. It is not.”

Late Sunday evening, Shriver posted a new comment that mimicked Trump’s voice and style, and suggested that the venue’s closure was intended to distract from the cancellations.

She said that “artists are canceling left and right” and the president decided that “since the name change no one wanted to perform there anymore.”

She said Trump decided it was best to “close this center and rebuild a new center” that would bear his name. I asked: “Isn’t it?”

One lawmaker, Rep. Joyce Beatty, an Ohio Democrat and ex-officio trustee of the center’s board, filed a lawsuit in December, arguing that “only Congress has the authority to rename the Kennedy Center.”

Beatty said on Sunday that Trump had “once again acted with complete disregard for Congress” which appropriates money to the center.

She wondered what would come next for the artists – and the building itself. “Let’s be clear: Redesigning the building will not restore the Kennedy Center to what it was. A return to artistic independence will,” she said. “American artists reject this takeover attempt, and the administration knows it.”

Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.