Donald Trump announced over the weekend that he’s going to close down the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly called the Kennedy Center, in order to renovate it. The move comes after the Trump administration’s takeover of the Kennedy Center, partly to stop LGBTQ+-inclusive programming, and many major artists have canceled performances there.

Longtime gay Trump hanger-on, Ric Grenell, said that he’s personally “grateful” that Trump will be shutting the center down.

Related

Musician accuses gay Trump official of inviting conservative group to Kennedy Center to heckle her

Trump abruptly announced over the weekend that the Kennedy Center, which he is calling “The Trump Kennedy Center,” will close for two years starting in July for “construction, revitalisation, and complete rebuilding.” Trump called the building “tired, broken, and dilapidated,” although it’s not clear what the evidence is for this claim.

This means that the center could be closed during the nation’s semiquincentennial, or 250th birthday, and for much of the remainder of Trump’s second term. The announcement follows the president’s demolition of the White House’s East Wing in order to construct a ballroom.

Insights for the LGBTQ+ community

Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more.
Subscribe to our Newsletter today

Grenell, who served as U.S. ambassador to Germany during Trump’s first term, was appointed president of the Kennedy Center last year by Trump, who promised that Grenell’s leadership would lead to “NO MORE DRAG SHOWS, OR OTHER ANTI-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA.” Grenell celebrated Trump’s announcement that the Kennedy Center would be closed for two years.

“I am grateful for President Trump’s visionary leadership,” Grenell posted to X. “I am also grateful to Congress for appropriating an historic $257M to finally address decades of deferred maintenance and repairs at the Trump Kennedy Center. Our goal has always been to not only save and permanently preserve the Center, but to make it the finest Arts Institution in the world.

Grenell said that the center “desperately” needs renovations and said that Trump “has a reputation for delivering large construction projects on time, under budget and beautifully finished.” He did not cite any examples to back up that claim.

Some are criticizing Trump’s decision to “rebuild” the Kennedy Center.

“A reminder that the Kennedy Center is the literal and legal and congressional designated presidential memorial to JFK,” former Politico editor Garrett Graff posted to Bsky. “This would be like Trump tearing down the Lincoln Memorial to build something ‘better.’”

Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.