The executive director of the Kennedy Center has said workers have failed to remove the president’s name from the Kennedy Center walls due to poor weather in Washington D.C.
In court filings published to X, executive director Charles Matthew “Matt” Floca said that Trump signage couldn’t be taken down on June 12 “due to thunderstorms which presented safety concerns to workers completing the compliance task.”
President Donald Trump lost his legal fight to add his name to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, but his name was still emblazoned on the side of the building past the deadline to take it down. The courts determined that the Kennedy Center’s new board, appointed by the president, could not rename the building, as it was designated as a memorial to President John F. Kennedy by Congress, and only Congress has the ability to rename the building.
A memo from the Kennedy Center’s general council obtained by CNN stated: “To comply with this order, you must immediately change email signatures, letterhead, and other documents to reflect the name as ‘The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts,’ or ‘Kennedy Center’,
“Other changes, such as to templates and forms, signage, brochures, and website pages, must be completed no later than Friday, June 12, 2026.”
Floca failed to explain in the published snippet of his declaration why the construction crew waited until the official deadline of June 12 to remove the president’s name from the building.
A crew was spotted around the center over the weekend, after failing to meet the Friday night deadline, taking the large metallic lettering of the president’s name off of the memorial site. They were surrounded by a crowd of people chanting “take it off” and “shame.”
The construction crew worked through rain on Saturday the 13 June to take the letters off.
The Kennedy Center is one of several D.C. monuments that the real-estate-mogul-turned-president has attempted to leave his mark on. He also repainted the Reflecting Pool , part of the Lincoln Memorial, to a brighter blue, and has now said he wants to leave a UFC “claw” in the White House lawn, following hosting a UFC fight at the White House for America’s 250th anniversary.
The president is also being sued over his decision to demolish the East Wing of the White House to build a ballroom. The suit claims that the president is infringing on D.C. residents’ ability to enjoy the White House grounds.
