It’s the saga that won’t end…
It all began with a hostile takeover and the implanting of loyalists on the board of the Kennedy Center saying, “we don’t need woke at the Kennedy Center. So I’ll be there until such time as it gets to be running right.”
Next came numerous resignations and cancellations.
Then the board members decided a new name should be added to the name of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
More cancellations ensued. And ticket sales plummeted.
A lawsuit and a judge’s order to remove the additional name.
And now a long drawn out appeal process that has sealed the order to remove any additional names to the Kennedy Center.
The White House and Kennedy Center board even went so far as to state that without the additional name on the wall, the Kennedy Center would face a financial collapse.
Congress has already allocated $257 million for renovations and repairs to the Kennedy Center.
Judge Christopher Cooper has ordered that no other name can appear on any part of the building or property but John F. Kennedy; adding that Congress and only Congress can add or change the name on the Kennedy Center.
The fallout of Judge Cooper’s order has been quick and decisive.
With the White House claiming that there will no be renovations without the name change, the Kennedy Center board has voted to immediately close down the Kennedy Center.
In one proposed resolution submitted by the board stated, “while actively considering alternative means of fiscal survival, President Trump has offered to step in and raise the necessary funds to keep the Center from bankruptcy during its much needed renovation. However, if the president’s name is not on the building he won’t be able to “lead the fiscal rescue of the Center.”
The Center stated that without the additional name on the building, they would have to return all of the private donations – millions of dollars.
Desperate to have the current White House resident’s name of the building, the board suggested, “Renovation and endowment overseen by President Donald J. Trump and the Trump Kennedy Center Fund” or “With Gratitude for Support from President Donald J. Trump and the Trump Kennedy Center Fund.”
Speaking on a reported piece of ceiling coming down, Kennedy Center vice president of public relations Roma Daravi said it was, “another example of the urgent need to close for renovation and revitalization, as our Chairman President Trump has championed. Fortunately, no one was injured when the main hall’s ceiling collapsed. This structural failure stems from decades of neglect and deferred maintenance by the previous leadership, and there’s no justification for further delays in restoring America’s cultural center.”
Roma Daravi said, “we intend to appeal today’s Court ruling and move forward with recognizing Chairman President Trump’s historic contributions to the revitalization of America’s Cultural Center.”
Taxpayers cover the building maintenance, operations, security, and repairs for the Kennedy Center; while private donations and ticket sales are the main source for programming expenses.
Built in 1964 as the National Cultural Center, the Performing Arts Center was renamed as a memorial for President John F. Kennedy after his 1963 assassination in 1973.