Kennedy Center Warns of “Certain Fiscal Collapse” and Closure This Week, Says Trump’s Name May Be the Only Fix

Donald Trump’s hand-appointed leaders of the Kennedy Center are warning of “certain fiscal collapse” and an immediate need to close the buildings for repair, arguing that the only thing that could possibly save the cherished institution is Trump’s ego name.

The Washington Post obtained a 57-page document that described the dire situation. The packet was distributed to the Kennedy Center board of trustees ahead of a special meeting Tuesday, during which they are to consider a pair of resolutions aimed at solving the financial and physical distress of the center.

On the financial front, Center officials warn that they will be unable to make payroll “within a matter of weeks.” Internal budget documents revealed earlier this year that the Center was running at a roughly $23 million deficit, having lost nearly $100 million in anticipated revenue and enacting steep spending cuts. The drop off in ticket sales and donations — not to mention lawsuits like the $250,000 one the Center tried to levy against Chuck Redd for canceling his Christmas show — all followed Trump’s adding his name to the Kennedy Center building, a move which was overturned by a judge ruling only Congress could change the Center’s name.

So of course, officials are now suggesting the only way to save the Center is… to add Trump’s name to it. The resolution before the board on Tuesday claims Trump has offered his assistance to “raise the necessary funds to keep the Center from bankruptcy” during renovations, but notes that such involvement is unlikely without “appropriate recognition” of his involvement.

To that end, trustees will be presented with 10 options for text that would be added underneath the Kennedy Center name, including, “Renovation Restoration and Endowment overseen by President Donald J. Trump and the Trump Kennedy Center Fund.” Less than a month ago, the board approved a plan to add “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump” to the building (before either restoration or renovations had occurred), but US District Judge Christopher Cooper — the same judge who ordered Trump’s name removed from the facade the first time — is already considering a legal challenge.

As for the resolution regarding the physical building, Executive Director Matt Floca, whom Trump installed in March after previous appointee Ric Grenell stepped down after just over a year in the role, says that a September 4th storm caused a four-by-five foot section of the Grand Foyer ceiling to fall 60 feet to the ground. No one was injured, but the damage did occur near the Concert Hall entrance.

Inspectors are said to have found several other areas with visible water damage, while engineers separately found corrosion in the soffit panels on the overhang around the building’s exterior. In a two-page memo to trustees, Floca reported that engineers suggested one-third of the 139 panels examined needed immediate replacement.

Center representatives told the Post, “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.”

The Kennedy Center board once again approved a two-year, $250 million renovation shutdown back on August 13th. These new resolutions in front of trustees on Tuesday would dramatically accelerate plans by ordering the immediate closure of the main building. While anyone can appreciate the need to provide a safe environment for audiences, employees, and performers, something about this administration’s history of repairs and renovations to national landmarks would make anyone uneasy about the Contractor in Chief upending another American institution.

Should the two-year renovation project shutter the Kennedy Center, performances and other programming would be moved to other venues, including the REACH, which opened in 2019.