Trump has gotten himself into a mess of trouble. It goes beyond his name on the Center. It goes beyond the (unnecessary) closing. It goes into incredible mismanagement, and it’s on Trump’s head. New information has come out regarding something else Trump has done regarding the venerated space. It’s something we didn’t particularly could or should have expected, and it’s such a Trump thing. It’s been covered up until now. Well, they can’t hide it or themselves now.
My compliments to Raw Story:
“We think that the real reason they need to shut down or want to shut down is to hide the financial mismanagement that is the direct result of his name going on the Kennedy Center,” Nathaniel Zelinsky said. “So we think these two things, the renaming and the shutdown, are intimately linked.”
And an interjection from another Raw Story:
“Program revenue declined by $16 million and pledges and grants declined by $30 million in the seven or so months after Trump began his Kennedy Center takeover. That was before he added his name to the building, a move that reportedly caused ticket sales and donations to plunge much further,” Zeteo’s report reads. “Interestingly, the tax return says that as of Sept. 30, 2025, roughly $330 million in federal appropriations — $310 million allotted for capital repair and restoration, and $20 million for operations and management — were being ‘held by [the] U.S. Treasury.’”
Well, well, well. People who loved and supported the Kennedy Center said NOPE to Trump. Artists, as we well know, said NOPE to Trump. That’s hopefully not, but possibly a death knell for the Center, and we canNOT allow it to happen. We need to take care of it. We need to get Trump OUT of there and his excuse for a board, except for Rep. Joyce Beatty, who is working with the court and trying very hard to keep it from being wrecked, no matter how that wrecking may be. It ranges from Trump’s name on the building to tearing it down. We remember how Trump snuck in the East Wing demolition before anything could be done to stop him.
Trump’s arrogance knows no bounds, and it’s hard to believe all this shizzle is in, and comes from one person. He’s never going to be satisfied. We look at what he has already ruined. We look at what he’s trying to do to the Kennedy Center. We look at the things he’s building and wish they could be torn down. We might be able to get the ridiculous arch gone. And if it isn’t finished, all the better – less work. Will Congress or the next president actually dismantle it?
The money drop is directly linked to Trump, and he only made it worse when he put his name on it. Seems that we, the people, can wait until Trump’s gone to refresh the Center and do it properly, if it truly needs to be done. That’s assuming we can keep him from trashing it. The AI videos of it “falling down” are pitifully fake. Perhaps in a couple of years, or sooner than we think, AI will have been improved enough that we wouldn’t be able to see it’s fake, but there are certain characteristics that could still be used.
So, Rep. Beatty, we support you in your fight. We hope the courts will help you (and us) continue to fight. Trump doesn’t need to change anything about the Kennedy Center. We need someone with sense, and performing arts venues would be a bonus, to look at it for us and provide an honest, nonpartisan analysis of what *actually* needs to happen. A lot of us are worried and don’t want to lose the Center and its campus.
Friends, I know everybody begs you for money. I promise you that, of all the outlets bugging you for spare change, we are the smallest and the hardest-working. We’re a bunch of old, disabled people, except for one writer in his mid-50s. But the rest of us are in our sixties and seventies, and this is a labor of love. All we’re asking for is the ability to continue our quest to tell the truth about Trump and help ensure democracy survives. If you can help, please do. Thank you. Ursula
