A judge prohibits Trump from renaming the Kennedy Center in Washington with his name

Washington.- A federal judge ruled this Friday that the American president, Donald Trump, cannot rename the Kennedy Center in Washington, the largest performing arts theater in the capital, to put his last name on it, nor can he close the venue for two years to carry out renovations as he intended. Judge Casey Cooper gave a two-week deadline to remove the name of the official, which was placed months ago on the facade of the building and also temporarily blocked the closure of the institution this summer to carry out renovations, months after Trump announced a two-year closure. The magistrate pointed out that the law that created the center "makes it absolutely clear" that it must bear the name of President John F. Kennedy, assassinated in 1963, and that it cannot bear any other name, based on the "unilateral decision" of the institution's management, currently controlled by those close to Trump. Trump reacted harshly to the ruling and stated on his Truth Social account that the judge "should be ashamed of himself", while accusing the left of preferring that the cultural center "die before allowing President Trump to transform it into something everyone can be proud of".

The center was scheduled to close its doors starting July 4th, as Trump intends to renovate the building. However, the announcement of the works coincided with a drop in ticket sales and the boycott of several artists after the institution was taken over by the president.

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Since February 2025, after Trump's return to the White House, dozens of artists have canceled their performances at this theater after the president dismissed the center's top executives to replace them with members of the Republican Party. Furthermore, the main New Year's Eve performance was canceled and the closure for years due to the works, now stopped by the judge, threatened to dismantle the institution.