I had the TV on listening to news while writing an article when news broke that by a ‘unanimous’ vote (I’ll get to that) Trump’s name would be added to the John F. Kennedy Center For the Performing Arts. Commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center the iconic and beloved cultural institution got bum-rushed earlier this year by Trump. He replaced the old board with ass-kissing toadies to the extent possible. His (and Melania’s) jealously of the glamor of John and Jackie Kennedy turns him Grinch green so it figures he’d wait till Christmas to do what we all knew he’d eventually do.
As CNN tells us for now at least it will be named the Trump-Kennedy Center. Of course. No way in hell Trump would have his name second! The fact Kennedy’s name remains at all is even Trumpty knows there will be some blowback if he went straight ahead with doing what we all know he intends to do – completely rename the building into the Trump Center. I wonder how Susie Wiles and others convinced him to at least for a while share billing with JFK? At any rate, rather than drop what I was doing when I heard the breaking news was see if some statement from the WH had made it ‘official.’ Infuriatingly they’ve done so:
“The Kennedy Center Board of Trustees voted unanimously today to name the institution The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts,” center spokeswoman Roma Daravi said in a statement.
“The unanimous vote recognizes that the current Chairman saved the institution from financial ruin and physical destruction. The new Trump Kennedy Center reflects the unequivocal bipartisan support for America’s cultural center for generations to come,” she added.
The vote took place during a board meeting, according to a source familiar with the matter, during which Trump called in.
Trump joining in jumped out at me. There’s a creepy ‘We talked about this. I’ll be watching and you’d better do what I said, or else!’ aspect to it. I say that because (I said I’d get to this) there’s a curious aspect about the vote being “unanimous.” At least one board member involved had her phone muted by whomever was in charge! Yep. An Ex Offico Board Member (click on the link for an explanation of Ex Officio) was pointedly silenced from speaking up:
Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty, an ex-officio member of the board, attempted to object to the vote but was muted. The meeting is now adjourned, the source said.
There’s something else I want to mention. The linked article fails to but there have been plenty of news stories (including by me here on PZ) about how as Trump started putting his own stamp/brand on the Kennedy Center revenue has tanked. Performances that had been booked have been cancelled, sometimes by Team Trump and sometimes by disgusted performers or the troupe they work for. Donations are way down (and Trump ‘Tech Bros’ don’t seem interested in making up one bit of it), and ticket sales have cratered. Even with giving away huge numbers of tickets the venues have empty seats all over the place during performances. This is all well-documented. Not that Trump cares.
I wrote a little earlier about how Trump’s polling is in his fake gold toilet because instead of addressing real everyday problems Americans have to deal with he’s engaged in vanity projects. Blinging out the Oval Office and passageways in the WH, turning Jackie Kennedy’s iconic Rose Garden into a bland Mar A Lago patio, his ballroom and planned Arch of Trump etc. What’s next? Renaming the Washington Monument by plastering his name in fake gold letters down each side? Jackhammering the sculpture of Lincoln out of the Memorial and replacing it with a grotesque statue of himself sitting a a king-like throne? Renaming DC so the so the renamed ‘Trump House’ sits in the ‘District of Trump?’ In the ‘Trump States of America?”
By law to actually change the name of the Kennedy Center would require Congressional approval. So does deciding suspected (suspected I remind you) drug runners by using the military to blow them up with missiles. Or mounting a ground invasion of Venezuela which it looks like he’s going to do after the first of the year. If he’s not going to even acknowledge Congress’ authority (much less seek their approval) on things like THAT do you think for one second he’ll waste any time slapping his name up on the Kennedy Center?
I have a new fantasy. Not of being there on the glorious day the letters spelling out Trump are unceremoniously torn off the Kennedy Center but something else first. I’m sure there will be a large Kennedy family gathering just like there always is for major holidays. RFK Jr. of course will be pointedly told to stay the hell away. But maybe they should allow him there for five minutes. During that time they could be out on the lawn as he arrives and blocking the road. The whole gang can then turn around and MOON him – and post a picture on social media with a caption about it being the official Kennedy family’s response to this travesty! Oh, and tell Jr. to go the f**k away and if he came back on the property have his ass arrested for trespassing. Video of that on social media would be pretty special too.
I know there are more serious/important things to focus on. On the other hand, this is a measure of just how out of control Trump truly is. That a person THIS self-absorbed and obsessed with aggrandizing himself in the Oval Office and in control of the nuclear codes should scare the hell out of everyone. It’s this type of thing that demonstrates to voters that he doesn’t care about them or the country. That he ONLY cares about himself.
Friends, I know everyone begs you for money. I promise, among all those asking for spare change, we are the smallest and the hardest working. We’re a group of old, disabled people, except for one writer in his mid-50s. The rest of us are in our sixties and seventies, and this is a labor of love. All we’re asking for is the chance to keep telling the truth about Trump and help ensure democracy survives. If you can help, please do. Thank you. Ursula
