The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts removed Donald Trump's name from its façade and website early June 13, 2024 [1].
The action follows a legal battle over the venue's naming conventions and a federal judge's mandate to strip the former president's name from the property. The move highlights the ongoing legal friction between Trump and various public and cultural institutions.
Workers carried out the removal in the early morning hours of June 13, 2024 [1]. This occurred shortly after a court-ordered deadline of June 12, 2024 [1]. A federal judge had issued the order on that same date, June 12, 2024 [3].
An official from the Kennedy Center Executive Director's office confirmed the action. "We have removed the name from the building and the website," the official said [2].
Trump responded to the ruling with criticism. "The judge should be ashamed of himself," Trump said [3].
Reports on the physical removal of the name varied during the process. AP News reported that the name remained on the façade despite the deadline [4]. However, CBS News and Yahoo reported that the name had been fully removed, with the latter citing a court filing as confirmation [5, 6].
The Kennedy Center, located in Washington, D.C., is a premier national cultural center. The legal challenges that led to this removal centered on the venue's name change, and the subsequent inclusion of Trump's name on the building [1, 3].
“"The judge should be ashamed of himself."”
This removal signifies the culmination of a judicial process to decouple the Kennedy Center's institutional identity from the former president. By enforcing a strict deadline, the federal court has asserted that the venue's public branding must comply with specific legal standards regardless of the political profile of the individuals involved.
