Kennedy Center removes Trump's name from the building

National Kennedy Center removes Trump's name from the building Updated June 13, 202612:46 PM ET Originally published June 12, 20268:43 PM ET By  Fatima Al-Kassab ,  Frank Langfitt A worker removes a letter from President Donald Trump's name from the wall of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, Saturday, June 13, 2026. Cliff Owen/AP hide caption toggle caption Cliff Owen/AP WASHINGTON - Workers have taken down President Donald Trump's name from the Kennedy Center, hours after a court-ordered Friday deadline to remove it from the building, and less than six months after it was first affixed to the iconic performing arts venue. The removal of the more than a dozen bronze letters followed a judge's ruling that the Center could not be renamed without Congressional approval. National The many ways Trump wants to change D.C., from buildings to statues to parks In a court filing, Kennedy Center Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer Charles Matthew Floca confirmed that President Trump's name has been removed from the building façade, despite what Floca said were weather-related delays. References to Trump on the center's website are also gone. Just a month into his second term, Trump ousted the Kennedy Center's president, board chair and board members, then replaced them with a group of trustees that soon named Trump as chairman. Soon after, the president's name was added to the building, so that it became, "The Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts." Sponsor Message The administration had on Friday asked a higher court to stay the ruling as it argued that Trump's name on the building had helped attract donors and was crucial to raising funds for the Kennedy Center's renovation. "Without the name, "Trump" on the Building, our fundraising will not only come to a halt," the administration wrote in a court filing, "but any and all monies raised or committed would be obligated to be returne...