Culture News

Trump says the Kennedy Center will close for two years from July 4 after artists pull out

President Donald Trump said on Sunday, February 1, that the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington will close on July 4 for about two years of construction, the Associated Press reports. The plan, announced on social media, is subject to approval by the centre's board, which Trump chairs and which his allies fill. Trump called the building “tired, broken, and dilapidated”; AP notes that neither he nor centre president Ric Grenell has provided evidence of disrepair, and that in October Trump had pledged the centre would stay open during renovations.

The announcement followed a wave of withdrawals after the board voted to rename the institution and Trump's name was added to the building's front ahead of Kennedy's. Composer Philip Glass withdrew his Symphony No. 15 “Lincoln”, and the Washington National Opera said it would move its performances elsewhere.

The centre's values are in “direct conflict” with the symphony's message. — Philip Glass, via AP

CNN reported that Trump did not say what the project will cost, only that financing is “fully in place”, and noted that the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” included $257 million for capital repair. According to a source, staff learned of the plan from Trump's post, and a closure had been discussed internally as a way to stem financial losses. The centre usually hosts more than 2,000 performances a year. Australia's AAP, using AP material, added that the post came days after the documentary Melania premiered at the venue and that Trump promised a “Grand Reopening”.

How each outlet framed it

• Associated Press — the artist backlash and the lack of evidence for disrepair.
• CNN — money, surprised staff and a wider pattern of changes in Washington.
• AAP — Trump's own promises, for an Australian audience.

What we don't know yet: The cost, how the work will be paid for, and whether a lawsuit by Rep. Joyce Beatty, who argues that only Congress can rename the centre, will affect the plan.