A judge ruled that Trump's name could not be placed on the Kennedy Center building. Axios wrote: "Simply put, Defendants cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress's blessing."1 Soon after, the Kennedy Center's board voted to close the main building immediately, pointing to safety and financial concerns. Fox News headlined it "Kennedy Center board votes to immediately close main building over safety, financial concerns". NBC News headlined it "Trump’s handpicked Kennedy Center board votes to immediately close venue for renovations".
A board member defended the closure by pointing to the condition of the building and the leadership overseeing the renovation. ""The building is not currently built to last, the Chairman knows that because he is among the best builders in the world," said Brian Ballard, Kennedy Center Board of Trustees member. "2We are lucky as a board and as an institution to have him at the helm during such a critical moment to save America's Cultural Center."", Fox News said. Trump said the building would remain closed and unrenovated unless his name was restored to it. CNBC headlined it "Trump says Kennedy Center will stay closed without renovation unless his name is added back". BBC News headlined it "Trump says Kennedy Center to close as court rules his name must stay off building".
The dispute also produced a heated exchange in which a participant described being confronted by Trump. "He said he was going to hold me responsible if something fell out of the ceiling and killed someone,"3 she added. "And I told him, I said, 'You're already killing people, we're at war.'"3, The Guardian said. Trump separately suggested, without offering evidence, that the judge overseeing the case was compromised because of his wife's past legal work. NBC News reported: "Trump also suggested without evidence that the judge, Christopher Cooper, is compromised because his wife, an attorney, represented former President Joe Biden, the source said."4
Mother Jones wrote: "Donald Trump has lurched, in short order, from would-be savior to abductor of the Kennedy Center, replacing vows to restore the facility's greatness with a threat to demolish it if he can't put his name on it."5
Other commentary questioned the use of public money for the renovation at all. Reason wrote: "If you live literally anywhere in the rest of the country, it's a little bananas that an arts center you will probably never visit is being renovated with your forcibly seized cash."6
A spokesperson for the center rejected calls for a boycott over the controversy. ""We have no place for politics in the arts, and those calling for boycotts based on politics are making the wrong decision," Daravi said.", The Daily Wire said. Reporting also indicated the center faced the possibility of bankruptcy.
