Trump announces Kennedy Center will close for two years for ‘complete rebuilding’

U.S. President Donald Trump announced Sunday that he plans to shut down the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a cultural hub in Washington D.C., for two years. In a post on his social media platform, Truth, he said the closure will begin on July 4, after the 250th anniversary celebrations over independence. In his post he wrote that a complete reconstruction will transform “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.”

The announcement comes after recent decisions by high-profile composers like Philip Glass and institutions like the Washington National Opera to sever ties with the center, which Trump has placed at the service of MAGA ideals as part of his crusade against “woke ideology.”

In December, the president added his name to the Kennedy Center, which opened in 1971 in honor of President John F. Kennedy, assassinated eight years earlier. A board of trustees appointed by Trump agreed that from then on it would be called the Trump Kennedy Center. The following day, workers changed the lettering on the building façade to reflect this unprecedented decision: White House occupants have traditionally waited until leaving office to have others remember them by having bridges, airports, or national parks named after them.

Trump’s takeover of the performing arts center began shortly after he took office for the second time in January 2025. His interest in the cultural center came as a surprise. During his first term, he never bothered to visit it.

In his second term, he has been to the center to attend a performance of Les Misérables, to host a gala that he refused to attend during his first presidency, and to receive the FIFA Peace Prize — an award created by FIFA President Gianni Infantino to curry favor with the president, who accepted it during the World Cup draw. Last week, Trump also used the center to promote his wife Melania’s new documentary, which premiered there.

Before his surprise announcement this Sunday, the president had spent the months leading up to the closure claiming that the Kennedy Center was experiencing a golden age. But the fact is that the center has seen a surge in voluntary resignations from musicians (Rhiannon Giddens) and actors (Issa Rae). The soprano Renée Fleming and the singer-songwriter Ben Folds, who held positions as advisers to the Kennedy Center, resigned.

In January, the National Opera announced it would stop using the Potomac River complex as its home. And the final blow came last week, when composer Philip Glass announced he would not premiere his highly anticipated new opera, inspired by President Abraham Lincoln, at the Kennedy Center.

And as fate would have it, Alvin Ailey’s dance company was performing in the city this Sunday as part of its annual residency. They usually perform at the Kennedy Center, but its management decided to move it to another theater in the city in protest against Trump’s takeover.

Subscription cancellations

There have also been cancellations among season ticket holders, and several analyses by U.S. media outlets have confirmed a drop in ticket sales, which the White House denies. And while it may lack scientific validity, any regular attendee of National Symphony Orchestra concerts or National Opera productions knows that it’s easier now than ever before to get tickets, and that offers for discounted tickets are also more frequent.

In his message, Trump said he made his decision to close the Kennedy Center after a year-long review with contractors, music experts, arts institutions and other advisers and consultants.

The center underwent a $250 million renovation and expansion in 2019 under the direction of Deborah Rutter, who resigned shortly after Trump took office. Last year, the U.S. president got Congress to allocate an additional $257 million for repairs to the building.

In his social media post, brimming with his trademark hyperbole, Trump also claims that his decision is subject to the approval of the board of trustees, though no one expects the cultural center’s governing body to oppose him. Among the members of the board, which Trump himself chairs, are names with more credentials of loyalty to the president than proven experience in cultural management. These include his envoy to Venezuela, Ric Grennell; his Chief of Staff, Susie Wiles; the White House Chief of Staff, Dan Scavino; the Secretary of Commerce’s wife, Allison Lutnick; and the Second Lady, Usha Vance.

Trump’s decision raises many questions about Washington’s cultural life. The Kennedy Center is a must for lovers of classical music, ballet, musicals and opera, and it also hosts soul, jazz and Latin music concerts, as well as comedy shows. It’s also unclear what will happen to the National Symphony Orchestra or its conductor, Gianandrea Nosseda. The Italian conductor and the orchestra’s managers stated last week in an interview with The New York Times that it was their intention to remain at the Kennedy Center until the storm passes. As it turns out, Trump had other plans for them.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition