President Donald Trump on Monday urged the board of trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to move forward with his controversial plan to temporarily close the historic venue for renovations, arguing that a full shutdown is the fastest way to restore what he says is the institution’s lost prestige.
Speaking from the East Room of the White House at the start of a Kennedy Center board meeting, Trump made the case that suspending operations for two years would allow construction to proceed efficiently and ultimately deliver a better result.
“You have to close it,” Trump said, emphasizing that the plan still required approval from the board.
“I think everybody agrees, but subject to board approval, we determined that the fastest way to bring the Trump-Kennedy Center to the highest level of beauty and grandeur is to cease the entertainment operations for a two-year period of time as we complete really high quality construction,” the president told trustees gathered for the meeting.
Trump said the goal was to shut down operations temporarily, complete the renovations properly, and reopen the center with what he described as a major relaunch.
“The best way to do it is close it — do it properly, and reopen and have a grand reopening,” Trump said.
Once finished, he added, the facility would surpass the condition it was in when it first opened more than five decades ago.
“And when it’s finished, it’s going to be far better than it was when it was originally built,” the president said as several board members, including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Attorney General Pam Bondi, looked on.
Trump also touted what he described as progress already made at the center over the past year.
“Over the past year, we’ve made incredible strides to restore the true purpose and prestige of this revered institution,” he said, while describing the venue, which opened in 1971, as having been “somewhat a disaster” before his involvement.
Among the changes he highlighted were upgrades to the air-conditioning system, improved seating, and the installation of new marble.
The meeting came just days after a federal judge weighed in on a lawsuit connected to the planned closure. Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), who serves as an ex officio member of the Kennedy Center board, had sought to block Trump from moving forward with the plan.
In a ruling issued Saturday, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper said Beatty must be given a “meaningful opportunity” to participate in the meeting but did not require that she be allowed to vote.
The gathering also followed a leadership shakeup at the Kennedy Center. Trump recently announced the departure of Ric Grenell as the institution’s CEO and executive director.
Trump’s involvement with the Kennedy Center began last year in an unusual move early in his second term. The president ended the terms of multiple board members, accusing the arts institution and its programming of becoming too “woke.” He then installed allies on the board and named himself chairman.
“When we first took it over, I didn’t do it with enthusiasm,” Trump said Monday. “I did it because somebody had to do it — had to turn it around because it was failing.”
The changes sparked backlash in the arts community. Several artists cut ties with the center and canceled scheduled performances in protest of Trump’s leadership. Ticket sales reportedly fell in the months following the takeover.
Despite the controversy, the new board voted in November to rename the building the “Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”
Trump has continued to use the venue for major events, including the annual Kennedy Center Honors and the premiere of first lady Melania Trump’s documentary, “Melania.”
Earlier this year, the president announced that the center would close for a two-year renovation beginning in July, pending board approval. The project, which he described as a “complete reconstruction,” would aim to create what he called a “new and spectacular entertainment complex” in Washington, D.C.
In a recent social media post, Trump said the redesigned facility would become “the finest facility of its kind anywhere in the World.”
“What I do best in life is build,” the president said Monday.
Still, the proposal to shutter a major cultural institution for two years underscores the scale of the undertaking — a gamble that supporters say could restore the center’s stature, but one that critics argue risks disrupting the performing arts community in the nation’s capital for years to come.
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