What Do We Know About The Kennedy Center Tarps?
Large tarps and scaffolding have blocked the sign affixed to the Kennedy Center facade for more than six weeks. Workers erected the scaffolding and hung the tarps in the early hours of June 13 before removing Trump’s name from the center’s sign to comply with a court order. But no onlookers have been able to see the restoration of the Kennedy Center’s original name for themselves, which has frustrated some visitors as well as members of Congress. Beatty has accused the Kennedy Center in court filings of keeping the tarps up in “petulant defiance” of the court’s order to remove the Trump branding, also suggesting the tarps remain standing to “massage broken egos.” Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., accused the Kennedy Center of a “literal coverup” last month in a post on X, writing, “It will be a beautiful day when the name of the Kennedy Center is restored to visibility,” likening the addition of Trump’s name to vandalism. Kennedy Center spokesperson Roma Daravi previously told the Washington Post the tarps are up so workers can repair the marble facade, but the center has given no indication when the tarps are expected to come down.
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what to watch for
The Kennedy Center is still fighting a federal judge’s previous order that required it to remove Trump’s name, which the judge said violated a law that designates the ability to name the center to Congress. The center appealed the judge’s order to a federal appeals court, arguing in court filings the removal of Trump’s name will “substantially undermine fundraising and financial viability,” suggesting some donors have only pledged money to the center because it once included Trump’s name.
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key background
Cooper ruled in May the Kennedy Center must remove Trump’s name from all digital and physical branding, saying the center’s founding law “makes crystal clear that the Center is to be named for President Kennedy.” Early in his second term, Trump targeted the Kennedy Center over allegedly “woke” programming and purged the board of trustees, filling it with allies. The board appointed Trump chair and voted to add his name to the center, without seeking congressional approval. Cooper also blocked the Kennedy Center from closing for two years of renovations, saying the decision to close was “ill-informed and seemingly preordained” and based on an “insufficient, one-sided presentation of information” that ignored the center’s statutory obligations. The Kennedy Center has argued in court it does not need to reschedule programming, which Beatty said has turned it into a “lifeless husk.”
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further reading
Federal Judge Demands Answers About Tarps Blocking Kennedy Center Sign (Forbes)