Kennedy Center board votes to rename in honour of Trump, White House says
The administration of Republican Donald Trump has announced that the board for the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has moved to rename the institution after the sitting president, Al Jazeera reports.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt revealed the change on social media on Thursday, saying the Trump-appointed board had made the decision earlier in the day.
“I have just been informed that the highly respected Board of the Kennedy Center, some of the most successful people from all parts of the world, have just voted unanimously to rename the Kennedy Center to the Trump-Kennedy Center,” Leavitt wrote.
I have just been informed that the highly respected Board of the Kennedy Center, some of the most successful people from all parts of the world, have just voted unanimously to rename the Kennedy Center to the Trump-Kennedy Center, because of the unbelievable work President Trump…
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) December 18, 2025
She said the change would recognise “the unbelievable work President Trump has done over the last year in saving the building”. Leavitt credited the sitting president with overseeing the facility’s “reconstruction” and bolstering its finances and “reputation”.
It is unclear, however, whether the name change would move forward without congressional approval.
Opened in 1971 in Washington, DC, the arts centre is home to the Washington National Opera and the National Symphony Orchestra. It includes seven stages and hosts touring shows as well as local performances.
Ground was broken on the structure in 1964, a year after Kennedy, the 35th president of the US, was assassinated during a public appearance in Dallas, Texas.
While the idea for a national arts centre predated Kennedy, the Democratic leader was credited with supporting the fundraising efforts that helped transform the project into a reality.
On January 23, 1964, Kennedy’s successor Lyndon B Johnson signed into law an act of Congress naming the arts centre after the slain leader. Previously, the arts complex was slated to be called the “National Cultural Center”.
The Kennedy Center, the congressional act proclaimed, would serve as a “living memorial” to the late president. The act noted that Kennedy had been “particularly devoted to the advancement of the performing arts”.
“It is only fitting and proper that a suitable monument be dedicated to the memory of this great leader,” the act read, adding that no other memorial would be erected in Kennedy’s honour in Washington, DC.
Earlier, Trump installed new White House plaques critiquing former presidents.
