13.6.2026
The Kennedy Center has removed Donald Trump’s name from its building, its executive director said Saturday, erasing a symbolic fixture of the President’s remaking of Washington, DC.
Crews placed a tarp over the signage on Friday, blocking any view of the progress made on the removal of Trump’s name. The tarp was still on the building’s facade Saturday after Executive Director Matt Floca said Trump’s name was taken off to abide by a judge’s ruling.
The removal marks a blow to the president’s bid to control the performing arts center and his broader effort to put his stamp on the nation’s capital. His takeover of the institution, a memorial to former President John F. Kennedy, began in the early days of his second term, when he gutted the existing board and installed loyalists.
A judge had granted the Kennedy Center’s request for additional time to fully remove Trump’s name from the building, giving the Washington performing arts institution until noon ET Saturday after the organization missed an 11:59 p.m. Friday deadline, citing thunderstorms.
A federal judge ordered the Kennedy Center to restore its original name, and court filings then said crews removed Trump’s name from the building and website. The fight drew attention because the work happened after a missed deadline and a last-minute appeal failed.
On Saturday morning, a small crowd had gathered to watch the president’s name come down, some of them stopping to take photos. One man took a selfie with the tarp-covered building behind him, crossing his fingers.
“I just wanted to see (Trump’s) name gone,” JoAnn Jones told CNN. “When a person wants to put their name on a building that you had nothing to do with, you did no work, you just, you don’t deserve it.”
An appeals court on Friday rejected a last-minute effort by the center to freeze the ruling by US District Judge Christopher Cooper that imposed the 11:59 p.m. deadline, arguing more time was needed for court proceedings play out.
The appeals court did not explain its reasoning for its decision in a brief, unsigned ruling. The panel included Judge Gregory Katsas, a Trump appointee; Patricia Millett, an appointee of former President Barack Obama; and Robert Wilkins, also an Obama appointee. CNN