Center’s leadership says building unsafe as others dispute closure need
President Donald Trump said on Truth Social on Tuesday that the Kennedy Center is “in a virtual state of collapse,” two days after the institution’s administration told its board the arts venue was on the brink of bankruptcy, the Washington Post reported. Trump confirmed the board would meet that day. He railed against the “hostile and conflicted” federal judge who had blocked the venue’s temporary closure for keeping it open, saying there were neither performances scheduled nor “people that would have the Courage to even go in.”
The Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to the BBC’s request for comment.
Trump also touted his ability to raise money and construction prowess, saying he has the strength and power of the presidency to support his renovation.
On Sunday, the Kennedy Center administration told its board that the arts institution was on the brink of bankruptcy, the Washington Post reported. The administration said it was in a “precarious fiscal position” and would not be able to support payroll obligations and routine maintenance contracts “within a matter of weeks.” Closure could come as soon as Tuesday, it added.
A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the Kennedy Center board from adding Trump’s name back to the building’s facade, ruling that the inscription requires approval from Congress. In May, the same judge ordered the removal of Trump’s name from the building and blocked its temporary closure for the president’s proposed renovations.
The board, chaired by Trump and comprising his cabinet members and allies, approved a resolution in August that called for the inscription “Renovated and Restored by President Donald J. Trump” to be added to the building. Trump announced the addition of his name to the institution, along with other rebranding measures across the nation’s capital, last year. In February 2025, he replaced several trustees on the center’s board and appointed himself as a trustee before being voted in as the arts centre’s chairman.
The current leadership at the center has said the building is unsafe for continued occupancy, pointing to part of the ceiling falling earlier this month. Others close to the center dispute that closure is necessary.
The judge’s written order came less than an hour before the board was scheduled to meet about what it called “the necessary closure” of the center ahead of Trump’s proposed two-year renovations, according to US media.