The president says the venue’s board voted to shut the centre down for renovations, but it will not reopen unless the judgment is overruled
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenAgence France-PressePublished: 3:46am, 16 Sep 2026Updated: 3:54am, 16 Sep 2026US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the Kennedy Centre will close down – possibly for good – after a judge ruled his name cannot be added to the famed arts institution’s exterior.
Trump said the Washington cultural venue’s trustees voted to shut down for what it says are vital emergency renovations, and that it will not reopen unless the judgment is overruled.
“The Board of The Kennedy Center today agreed, almost unanimously, to close the Building for Safety reasons, and so that it can begin the process of Reconstruction,” Trump said in a social media post.
Trump said it would close immediately but said the “very large and complex” renovations cannot begin until a higher court rules on whether it can be renamed after himself.
