WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s handpicked board voted Thursday to rename Washington’s leading performing arts center as the Trump-Kennedy Center, the White House said.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced the vote on social media, saying it was because of the “unbelievable work President Trump has done over the last year in saving the building. Not only from the standpoint of its reconstruction, but also financially, and its reputation.”
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Trump, a Republican, often refers to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which is named for a Democratic predecessor, as the “Trump Kennedy Center.”
Asked on Dec. 7 as he walked the red carpet for the Kennedy Center Honors program whether he would rename the venue after himself, Trump said such a decision would be up to the board.
Earlier this month, Trump talked about a “big event on Friday at the Trump Kennedy Center” before saying, “excuse me, at the Kennedy Center,” as his audience laughed. He was referring to the FIFA World Cup soccer draw for 2026, in which he participated.
General view outside the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw, Washington, D.C., Dec. 4, 2025. Photo by Jeenah Moon/Reuters
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