The president insists that the performing arts center and JFK memorial is «run down,» «dilapidated» and «dangerous.»<\/b>
\nPresident Donald Trump doubled down Monday on his proposed plan to gut and renovate the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, telling White House reporters that he will \u201cbe using the steel\u201d for the building\u2019s existing structure and redo the rest.
\u201cSome of the marble comes down,\u201d he said, adding, \u201cIt will be brand new and really beautiful.\u201d
The president came under fire Sunday after announcing plans to close the performing arts center and memorial to President John F. Kennedy for two years after controversially renaming it the Trump-Kennedy Center.
\u201cThis important decision, based on input from many Highly Respected Experts, will take a tired, broken, and dilapidated Center, one that has been in bad condition, both financially and structurally for many years, and turn it into a World Class Bastion of Arts, Music, and Entertainment,\u201d Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Sunday.
Maintaining Monday that the center is \u201cin very bad shape, it\u2019s run down, it\u2019s dilapidated, it\u2019s sort of dangerous,\u201d the president said the overhaul will cost \u201caround $200 million\u201d and spoke to his experience as a real estate mogul to back up the decision. (\u201cIn real estate and building, I\u2019ve done so much of it, I\u2019ve done so well with it.\u201d)
Asked by a reporter in the Oval Office if the renovation will tear down the arts center entirely, Trump said, \u201cWhen it opens, it\u2019s going to be brand new. Beautiful. I\u2019m not ripping it down. I\u2019ll be using the steel. So we\u2019re using the structure. We\u2019re using some of the marble and some of the marble comes down. But when it\u2019s open, it will be brand new and really beautiful.\u201d
\u201cSo we\u2019ll be closing it sometime around July 4. It\u2019s, like, we\u2019ll close it on July 4 in order to do something great for America. And then we\u2019re building, we\u2019ve got great contractors, we\u2019re going to build it and we\u2019ll do it right,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re using the highest grade marble, it\u2019s the highest grade everything. It will be brand new.\u201d
Watch his remarks below:
The late President Kennedy\u2019s familiy were among the many figures decrying the construction project on Sunday, among them Jack Schlossberg, Maria Shriver and Joe Kennedy III.
\u201cTrump can take the Kennedy Center for himself,\u201d Schlossberg wrote on X. \u201cHe can change the name, shut the doors and demolish the building. He can try to kill JFK. But JFK is kept alive by us now rising up to remove Donald Trump, bring him to justice and restore the freedoms generations fought for.\u201d
Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), a former Kennedy Center board member, also spoke out Sunday.
\u201cOnce again, Donald Trump has acted with total disregard for Congress,\u201d she wrote in a statement. \u201cThe Kennedy Center is congressionally funded, and Congress should have been consulted on any decision to shut down its operations or undertake major renovations, especially for a two-year period.
\u201cCountless employees, artists, and others have existing contracts and agreements with the Center. What happens to them? Has Trump or his handpicked Board given any consideration to their livelihoods or futures? This is precisely why congressional oversight is essential.\u201d
Trump\u2019s takeover of the performing arts center has led to declining performance at the venue\u2019s theatrical and live event box office, with one report last summer finding a 50% drop-off in sales. Artists and executives alike have peeled off and canceled events at the center as well.
\u201cLet\u2019s be clear: remodeling the premises will not restore the Kennedy Center to what it was,\u201d Beatty concluded. \u201cA return to artistic independence will. America\u2019s artists are rejecting this attempted takeover, and the administration knows it. That is why they are now scrambling for cover.\u201d<\/p>\n