What Did the Kennedy Center Ever Do to Donald Trump?

This story is adapted from the Slatest newsletter. You can sign up here to get it in your inbox every day. Is it curtains for the Kennedy Center? Since retaking office, Donald Trump has demanded that the capital city’s chief performing arts venue be remade in his image—and threatened to shutter it if he doesn’t get his way. This week the fight came to a head: A federal judge rejected Trump’s latest efforts to rename the building after himself and demanded advance notice if he tries to knock it down. Whether Trump complies will not only determine the Kennedy Center’s fate. It’s also shaping up to be an unlikely test of whether the rule of law can constrain a rogue president. Remind me what the Kennedy Center is? It’s the nation’s official cultural center. Created by an act of Congress and named in honor of President John F. Kennedy, the center’s white-marbled building has hosted plays, concerts, and award ceremonies since 1971. What has Trump done to it? He has moved quickly to put his stamp on the center. Citing “woke” programming, he replaced its bipartisan board of trustees with sycophants last year. The new board named Trump as chairman, and he helped plan performances and awardees. An acclaimed children’s musical about a shark who “wants to let out his inner fish” was out; Sylvester Stallone was in. Surely people have fought back? Dozens of prominent artists nixed performances or severed ties with the center and criticized Trump’s attempts to align it with his politics. Things turned litigious after Trump’s handpicked board voted last year to rename the center after him, adding his name to the facade and changing its online logo to “The Trump-Kennedy Center.” How has the legal fight gone for Trump? Not well. In May, a federal judge said that only Congress could rename the center and temporarily blocked Trump’s plan to close it for a $257 million renovation. An appeals court refused to overrule the judge. So the board came back with a new idea: appending “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump” to the center’s name and renaming its grounds for him. And the president himself issued an ultimatum: If his name doesn’t go on the building, he won’t help save it. Does it need saving? Like many performance venues, the center’s finances suffered during the pandemic, and the administration has pointed to the threat of imminent bankruptcy to justify Trump’s takeover. But the takeover accelerated the center’s downward spiral in ticket sales and fundraising. The administration also claims that “severe structural deterioration” could require tearing down the building, citing an incident in which a chunk of ceiling collapsed during a recent storm. “I think that the Trump administration should certainly have recognition,” the president told reporters yesterday. “Because frankly, if we don’t do that, it’s going to close. It’ll end up being ripped down.” That’s a pretty naked threat. Would he really do that? If he doesn’t get his way, Trump seems more than willing to ruin the Kennedy Center for everybody else. After the same federal judge rejected the board’s latest naming workaround on Tuesday, the administration abruptly shuttered the building. (It claims the closure is temporary.) Yesterday, Trump was photographed reviewing a poster that appeared to show a plan to demolish it. So is he just going to get away with it? On Thursday, the judge demanded 30 days’ notice before the administration makes any major structural changes to the center, including tearing it down. But Trump has taken advantage of the slow-grinding gears of our legal system before. Last year he demolished the East Wing of the White House to make way for a gargantuan ballroom before courts could stop him. Whether he takes a wrecking ball to it or lets it stagnate, the Kennedy Center threatens to become his latest victim. If that happens, it’ll not only gut a cultural landmark; it’ll be another example of the president losing in court but getting his way anyway. That’s a troubling sign for the rule of law. Last question: There’s a war on, gas is $4.43 a gallon, and the midterms are around the corner. Why is Trump so obsessed with the Kennedy Center? The fight over a performing arts venue might not matter electorally, but it’s of a piece with Trump’s personality and priorities. The president is a pop-culture fanatic; he blasts Broadway showtunes at his rallies and was tweetstorming about Kristen Stewart a few years before becoming the leader of the free world. At times, Trump has seemed more focused on his ballroom than on the war he started with Iran. It’s an object lesson that fits a broader pattern: For more than a decade now, one man’s flights of fancy have inevitably become the country’s pressing concerns. The Kennedy Center might not (yet) bear Trump’s name. But this is his world, and we’re just living in it. The potential loss of yet another national landmark got you down? For your evening enjoyment, my colleagues have some ideas about what to focus on instead. Dive into a true-crime longread: As a teenager, Winston Walters became a rising reality-TV star for wrestling giant catfish. But shortly after his 20th birthday, he was arrested for a grisly attack—which he strongly denies he committed—and sentenced to 92 years in prison. His case became a cause célèbre among fans and online content creators. Crime reporter Wes Ferguson spent months speaking with Walters, his supporters, and the crime’s victims to make sense of the case’s twists and turns. It’s a gripping read. Crack open a new book: Emily St. John Mandel, author of Station Eleven, excels at writing about alternative futures. Her latest sci-fi book, Exit Party, is no exception. According to Laura Miller, Mandel expertly weaves together an interconnected cast of characters in this “lovely, meditative new novel.” Tune in to a nuanced conversation about sex work: On the latest episode of Death, Sex & Money, host Anna Sale spoke with Anna Blake, an OnlyFans creator who had hoped the platform would be a path to financial stability. Instead, the experience forced her to change her relationship to both sex and money. End the day with some wordplay: What’s an 11-letter word for “Hogs”? And what’s a three-letter word for a “Hog’s neighbor, maybe”? Play today’s crossword for some clever clues and interesting trivia tidbits. That’s all from me. Enjoy your night and see you tomorrow!