President Donald Trump’s name has been removed from the Kennedy Center’s facade following two court losses, a top official for the performing arts venue confirmed, though a large tarp covering the area has prevented the public from seeing the change for themselves.
Kennedy Center COO and Executive Director Matt Floca told a federal court on Saturday that the centre has complied with a directive to remove Trump’s name from the building. In the filing, Floca said the board of trustees had removed “all physical signage on the Kennedy Center building and grounds, including the front portico, that purports to rename the Kennedy Center after President Trump.”
Despite the compliance, a giant tarp remains hung over the section of the building where Trump’s name had been placed, directly above the name of the centre’s namesake, former President John F. Kennedy. A reporter for the Associated Press was able to view behind the tarp and confirmed Trump’s name was no longer present on the building. It remains unclear when the tarp itself will be removed, leaving the public unable to see the change for now.
The dispute traces back to shortly after Trump began his second term in January 2025, when he replaced the Kennedy Center’s leadership and installed a new board of trustees that named him president of the institution. Trump’s name was subsequently placed on the building above Kennedy’s, and the centre announced plans for an imminent two-year closure for renovations.
The same court order that directed the removal of Trump’s name also halted that planned closure, which had been set to begin in July. In response to the ruling, Trump has said he would consider turning the institution over to Congress or potentially shuttering it entirely. The appellate court’s ruling addressed only Judge Christopher Cooper’s order that Trump’s name be removed by 12 July, and the Kennedy Center board retains the option to appeal Cooper’s broader May ruling.
