The Kennedy Center in Washington will be renamed the Trump-Kennedy Center after a vote by its Trump-appointed board, a move one member disputes.
WASHINGTON: The US capital’s premier performing arts venue will be renamed after former president Donald Trump.
The Kennedy Center, named for the assassinated president John F. Kennedy, will become the “Trump-Kennedy Center” following a board vote.
The White House announced the decision on Thursday, stating the board Trump personally appointed earlier this year voted unanimously.
“I was surprised by it, I was honored by it,” Trump told reporters after the announcement.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the board voted “because of the unbelievable work President Trump has done over the last year in saving the building.”
Board member and Democratic lawmaker Joyce Beatty immediately disputed the account of a unanimous vote on social media platform X.
“For the record. This was not unanimous. I was muted on the call and not allowed to speak or voice my opposition to this move,” Beatty stated.
The renaming culminates Trump’s drive to overhaul an institution he previously criticised as too “woke.”
Since beginning his second term in January, Trump purged Democratic appointees from the centre’s board and ousted its president.
He has taken a personal interest in renovating the building, frequently visiting to inspect new white marble installations.
Trump presented the Kennedy Center Honors this year to recipients including actor Sylvester Stallone and singer Gloria Gaynor.
He had previously hinted at a name change in public remarks, once joking about “the Trump-Kennedy Center” during a speech earlier this month.
The imposing white-marble arts centre on the Potomac River opened in 1971, eight years after President Kennedy’s assassination. – AFP
