Kennedy Center orders immediate removal of Trump’s name

WASHINGTON - The Kennedy Center instructed staff on Thursday to immediately begin removing President Donald Trump’s name entirely from all literature and signage after a federal judge ruled last week the center’s board exceeded its authority in voting to add Trump’s name, according to multiple reports.

Key facts

- Staff were instructed to restore “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts” or “the Kennedy Center” to all signs, brochures, the website, letterhead, email signatures and other materials, according to a memo obtained by The Washington Post.

- Workers affixed Trump’s name to the marquee of the building in December after the center’s board, which consists of several of the president’s allies, approved the change, with the sign reading “The Donald J. Trump And The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center For The Performing Arts” since then.

- U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled against the renaming of the building last week, ordering Trump’s name to be removed from it within two weeks.

- The memo sent to staff Thursday said the court “ruled that the Board acted beyond its authority in adding President Trump’s name to the Center and gave the Center 14 days from May 29 to remove all references to the Center being named for anyone other than John F. Kennedy.”

Tangent

Cooper’s ruling also temporarily blocked the center from closing for renovations championed by Trump, who has called the venue “tired, broken, and dilapidated.” (Source: Forbes)