He’s already demolished the East Wing of the White House, but would President Donald Trump dare to demolish the Kennedy Center — just because a federal judge won’t allow him to add his name to the nation’s beloved performing arts center?
Public Notice’s Aaron Rupar on social media posted photos taken by AFP’s Brendan Smialowski that show Trump with a placard that appears to say “Kennedy Center Demolish” or “Demolished.”
“The images were published on Wednesday evening, shortly after the president said the performing arts center could ‘close’ or be ‘ripped down’ if his administration doesn't receive recognition on the performing arts site,” ABC News reported on Thursday.
Trump told reporters, “I think that the Trump administration should certainly have recognition. Because frankly, if we don’t do that, it’s going to close. It’ll end up being ripped down.”
Trump — or rather, the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees, whom Trump installed — has already closed the building. On Thursday, they were forced to tell a judge just how long it will be closed, after claiming last month it would be a two-year closure.
Now they claim one week.
“The Trump administration tells the court it has closed the Kennedy Center for a week ‘unless extended’ to deal with acute safety hazards, not as part of a broader demolition or renovation of the center,” reports Politico’s Kyle Cheney.
But in a sworn statement a legal observer reportedly noted that they had seen a forklift hitting the Kennedy Center’s pillars.
“I saw the forklift run into and hit the pillars on the building several times,” they said.
Even before news Trump might demolish the Kennedy Center, the mere closure has been of great concern.
“After driving away artists and audiences, the Trump team closes the Kennedy Center and Trump, indicating his real priority, says he will cancel a $257 million renovation of the venue if his name is not returned to the building,” The New York Times’ Peter Baker wrote on Wednesday.
“Closing the Kennedy Center, the official national memorial to John F. Kennedy, unless and until the name Donald J. Trump is added to it isn’t the act of a president,” noted political analyst David Axelrod. “It’s the act of a petulant child.”
“The nation is mired in a costly war. Inflation caused by it and senseless tariffs is burdening so many Americans,” Axelrod continued, saying that Trump “is spending his time stamping his feet and tantruming because the law prohibits him from adding his name to the national memorial for President Kennedy.”
Writer Charlotte Clymer warns: “If you think Trump wouldn’t demolish the Kennedy Center, that this is all some kind of bluff or only a calculated distraction, you clearly haven’t been paying attention all this time.”
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What's your personal take on this, David?
He is insane enough to do it. He’s also reeling from a middle finger flip from Canada so I can imagine his diaper nurse consoling him and encouraging him to reinstate his masculinity which has been forever deteriorating of late 🇬🇧