John F. Kennedy Center Moves for Significant Name Change to Trump-Kennedy Performing Arts Center, According to White House Announcement.
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The board of trustees of the iconic performing arts venue has voted to change its name the Trump-Kennedy Center, per an announcement by the White House.
White House Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt announced via a post that the board's vote was unified, attributing it to "the extraordinary job President Trump has done over the last year in saving the building."
"This will be a truly great team long into the future! The building will no doubt attain new levels of prestige and accomplishment," Leavitt noted.
The planned renaming is shaping up as highly controversial, especially in Washington, D.C., where the center has served as an architectural and cultural icon since its founding and christening for President John F. Kennedy.
Recent History of the Center
Shortly after assuming the presidency, President Donald Trump dismissed all the center's existing board members and appointed loyalists in their place. The freshly appointed board subsequently voted to name Trump the chairman.
The president helped procure approximately $257 million in appropriated money to pay for significant upgrades and other financial needs at the aging venue.
Inception
The vision for a national performing arts center was first proposed in the 1950s. Following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the 35th president, in 1963, the then-under-construction venue was christened the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
This report is being updated. Further context will be added as it becomes available.
