On a frigid December morning in Washington, D.C., workers in cherry picker lifts carefully affixed new metal letters to the facade of one of America’s most iconic cultural landmarks. The building, long known as The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, now bore a striking addition: "The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts." The change, executed on December 19, 2025, marked the first time in 54 years that the name on the front of the Kennedy Center had been altered—and the first time in U.S. history that a national institution carried the name of a sitting president.
This dramatic transformation came just one day after a unanimous vote by the Kennedy Center’s board—recently reshaped by President Donald Trump himself—to formally add his name alongside Kennedy’s. As crews worked behind a blue tarp, security kept a watchful eye, and a crowd of onlookers gathered in the biting cold. Some watched in disbelief, others in anger, while a handful snapped photos, realizing they were witnessing a moment that would be debated for years.
The decision, announced by Press Secretary Karoline Levitt, was framed as a tribute to Trump’s “unbelievable work” in saving the institution from “financial ruin and physical destruction.” Levitt described the newly christened “Trump-Kennedy Center” as a reflection of “unequivocal bipartisan support for America’s cultural center for generations to come,” according to 7News.
In a statement released by the center, the Board of Trustees emphasized the unanimous nature of the vote and credited Trump’s leadership as chairman for the center’s recent fortunes. The board had elected Trump as chair in February 2025, replacing longtime philanthropist David M. Rubenstein, and simultaneously installed 14 new members, including Trump and several of his close allies. The move followed months of speculation, as Trump had previously joked about renaming the center during his address at the Kennedy Center Honors on December 8, 2025.
Yet the board’s action was anything but universally celebrated. For many in attendance, the renaming felt like an affront to the memory of President Kennedy and the original spirit of the center. Sam, a local resident, could only shake her head in disbelief, telling WTOP, “Feels like putting your name on someone else’s gravestone.” Another onlooker, Barbara Best, was more direct: “I’m pissed as hell. It’s a dishonor to Kennedy. It’s a disgrace. It’s disgusting, is what it is.”
Arlene Pietranton, a longtime donor and patron, braved the cold to watch the sign go up. “I’ve been coming to the Kennedy Center since the year it opened,” she said. “Congress needs to put guardrails in place to keep the executive branch in check. This is their duty. This is their responsibility. There’s a reason we have three branches of government.”
Indeed, the legality of the board’s decision has been called into serious question by legal scholars and historians alike. According to George Washington University constitutional law professor Paul Schiff Berman, the move is “clearly unlawful.” Berman explained to 7News, “This is a congressional statute that created the Kennedy Center, and the statute specifically says that the name of the Kennedy Center shall be the name that it’s been right along. And although there is a board of governors that is created also by statute, the Board of Governors is not given the authority to simply change the name.” He added, “It’s easy to tell that it’s illegal, but harder to tell what happens next. The question is, will someone challenge it? Will a court say that they have standing to challenge it? Will a court enforce the statute? Will the Trump administration listen to a court when the court says to do something?”
Ray Smock, a former House of Representatives historian, echoed these concerns in comments to the Associated Press, noting, “The Kennedy Center was named by law. To change the name would require a revision of that 1964 law. The Kennedy Center board is not a lawmaking entity. Congress makes laws.” The law establishing the center explicitly prohibits the board from renaming the institution or adding another person’s name to its exterior.
This legal reality has not stopped the Trump administration from forging ahead. In a social media post, the center declared, “Today, we proudly unveil the updated exterior designation—honoring the leadership of President Donald J. Trump and the enduring legacy of John F. Kennedy.” But the backlash was swift, particularly from the Kennedy family and Democratic lawmakers. Kerry Kennedy, niece of President Kennedy, posted her own defiant message: “Three years and one month from today, I’m going to grab a pickax and pull those letters off that building, but I’m going to need help holding the ladder. Are you in?”
Former Congressman Joe Kennedy III also weighed in, stating that the Kennedy Center, like the Lincoln Memorial, was intended as a “living memorial to a fallen president” and could not be renamed “no matter what anyone says.” The symbolism of naming a national institution after a sitting president—especially one as polarizing as Trump—was not lost on observers. Traditionally, landmarks such as the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, and the Kennedy Center itself were named only after the deaths of the leaders they honor, cementing their place in the nation’s history after their legacies had been fully formed.
For his part, Trump claimed to be “surprised” by the renaming, despite having purged the previous board and appointing himself as chairman earlier in the year. According to Reuters, the renaming fits into a broader effort by Trump’s administration, which has accused cultural institutions like the Kennedy Center of being “too left-wing,” to assert greater influence over the nation’s most prominent arts venues.
Even the current president of the Kennedy Center, Richard Grenell, seemed caught off-guard by the suddenness of the change. Less than two weeks before the signage was unveiled, Grenell had been asked by WTOP if Trump’s name would be added. He replied, “If I could predict the future, you know what I would do? I’d go play the lotto and I wouldn’t be here.”
As the dust settles, the future of the Trump-Kennedy Center remains uncertain. Legal challenges appear likely, with critics arguing that only Congress has the authority to alter the center’s name. Meanwhile, supporters of the change tout Trump’s role in what they describe as the institution’s revival, while detractors see the move as a violation of both law and tradition.
For now, the new metal letters gleam in the winter sunlight—a symbol, for better or worse, of a deeply divided era in American cultural and political life.
