05/30/2026
In American musicians vs Trumpism news... wow this is a big day. As you know, I have posted on the Tump takeover of the Kennedy Center since day one. Basically within days of him becoming president a 2nd time. The plight of the Center is really important for the arts, and to me personally as I was on the Kennedy Center Honors Artist Committee for 15 years, and played there numerous times, including three feature performances on the Kennedy Honors themselves (tributing Roy Acuff, Victor Borge and Steve Martin respectively). So this ruling is a big deal. A judge's 90-page ruling states you can't have Trump's (hotel) name up there on the living monument that is dedicated by our Congress for the fallen president. And the judge found that it's too much to close the Center for repairs that could take 2 years while booting out the artists, and preventing it being a presidential monument. (I am to perform my music with the concertmaster of the National Symphony this summer at the Steamboat Springs Music Festival so I bet he's happy with this news).
Trump obviously is not happy, but seems to have already indicated he doesn't care about the Center anymore, if it can't have his name on it. Something about him giving the building back to Congress he wrote. God bless that Democrat congresswomen from Ohio who brought him to court. The Obama appointed judge is finding in her favor. Can't rename it due to the 1964 Congressional law (unless Congress renames it). The head of maga might lose interest in it, like he probably will about the Freedom 250 Great American State Fair with all of the artists cancelling once they discovered it is trump-backed. Read here from the NYTimes:
NEW YORK TIMES: "Judge Cooper found that the board had been “derelict” in considering the possible consequences to programming when shuttering the center, as well as its legal responsibility to maintain the center as a memorial to the slain president. His order did not make any specific directives for reinstating programming as the board reassesses its renovation plans...
… The judge’s order came in response to a lawsuit by Representative Joyce Beatty, Democrat of Ohio, who is an ex officio member of the Kennedy Center’s board. She objected to both the renaming and the plans to close the institution, which her lawyers argued was in fact a decision “designed to hide their embarrassment about declining ticket sales.”…
Mr. Trump announced in February that the center would be closing in July, calling the building “dilapidated” and in desperate need of renovations. Kennedy Center officials have asserted that it would have been irresponsible to keep the building open while addressing its maintenance needs, which they say includes widespread water damage and corrosion, outdated stage equipment and necessary security updates.
The Kennedy Center’s executive director, Matt Floca, defended the decision to shutter the building during testimony in court in the case brought by the preservation groups. Mr. Floca, a facilities professional whom Mr. Trump promoted in March, testified that there were “very clear efficiencies” — including financial — that came with deciding to temporarily close the institution.
But he acknowledged that there had been no studies comparing the cost of construction on a shuttered building with one that remained open.
“There is no need to,” Mr. Floca testified.
The board approved the plan in March, but the judge found that it had not done its due diligence in assessing the practical and legal questions surrounding such a major decision. He noted that although Mr. Trump had said in a social media post that there had been a one-year review of the issue involving contractors and “musical experts,” there was no evidence that such a review had taken place…
… In anticipation of the Kennedy Center’s closure, its performance calendar has largely been stripped bare. Several Broadway productions that were set for runs at the center were forced to cancel. The National Symphony Orchestra, which is attached to the center, has had to search for other local venues for their performances. Officials also began laying off staff members, saying that only a bare-bones work force would be retained during the closure…
… After shunning the Kennedy Center in his first term, Mr. Trump has staged a wholesale takeover of the institution in his second. He stocked the center’s board with loyalists, who installed him as chairman, ushering in a period of upheaval as many artists boycotted the increasingly politicized institution.
In Mr. Trump’s social media post on Friday, he indicated that he was now interested in giving up responsibility for the Kennedy Center, writing that he had instructed the Commerce Department to “transfer this failing Institution” to Congress. It was not immediately clear what he meant; the programming is run through a nonprofit, but Congress allots federal funds to maintain the building."
