(NewsNation) — President Trump on Sunday called for closing the Trump Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. for about two years to do extensive renovations to the performing arts center, which has been beset by a series of controversies during his second administration.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said a complete closure, rather than doing work while the center remains open for performances, is the best way to do renovations correctly.
“I have determined that The Trump Kennedy Center, if temporarily closed for Construction, Revitalization, and Complete Rebuilding, can be, without question, the finest Performing Arts Facility of its kind, anywhere in the World. In other words, if we don’t close, the quality of Construction will not be nearly as good, and the time to completion, because of interruptions with Audiences from the many Events using the Facility, will be much longer. The temporary closure will produce a much faster and higher quality result!” the president said.
He said the closure would occur July 4, to mark the nation’s 250th anniversary. The plan is subject to board approval, the president said.
“This 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, far better than it has ever been before,” Trump added.
Trump has made a series of moves since taking office last year that have put the arts center — originally named exclusively to honor Democratic President John F. Kennedy — in the midst of political controversy. The Republican president placed leadership in the hands of supporters, who made him board chair and controversially added Trump’s name to the venue.
In response, several performers and entertainment figures have cancelled shows. Most recently, American composer Philip Glass called off the world premiere of a symphony about Abraham Lincoln in June.
“Symphony No. 15 is a portrait of Abraham Lincoln, and the values of the Kennedy Center today are in direct conflict with the message of the Symphony,” Glass said last week.
Richard Grenell, current president of the Trump Kennedy Center, told NewsNation’s Katie Pavlich that Trump is using his insight as a builder and developer to save a national treasure.
“He literally came here,” Grenell said. “And we’re in a unique position to have a president who’s also a builder … We went all the way down into the basement, he looked at the floor, he looked at the sewer system, he looked at the pipes, and he immediately was, like, ‘Why is that floor so dirty, and it’s never been cleaned, and that pipe has fallen apart, and look … the soffits are falling.’”
