Judge Blocks Kennedy Center Board’s Patriotic Move to Honor President Trump
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A federal judge has once again sided with the liberal establishment, preventing the Kennedy Center board from recognizing President Trump’s historic contributions by adding his name to the building and grounds.
In a disappointing blow to those who value America’s recent achievements, a U.S. District Court judge in Washington, D.C., issued yet another order on Tuesday to prohibit the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts board from honoring President Donald Trump by placing his name on the center’s main building or renaming its grounds. This follows a May injunction that forced the removal of Trump’s name after the board had rightfully added it to the center’s official title and façade in December, recognizing his leadership and support for the arts.
Judge Christopher Cooper, bowing to pressure from the left and entrenched bureaucratic interests, claimed that any memorials or name changes for Trump would violate a previous court order and a congressional statute that restricts the Kennedy Center’s honors to President John F. Kennedy. Cooper criticized the board’s resolution, stating it “bucks a federal court order and a statute Congress enacted,” effectively silencing efforts to acknowledge Trump’s impact.
The board, chaired by President Trump, had planned to add the inscription “renovated and restored by President Donald J. Trump” beneath the center’s name and to designate the grounds as “The President Donald J. Trump Plaza,” with the deadline for these changes extended to Oct. 8. Rep. Joyce Beatty, a Democratic member of the board, predictably intervened, asking the judge to block the resolution and dismissing Trump’s “future existential and unprecedented contributions.”
The Department of Justice, defending the board’s decision to honor Trump, argued that donor support could be jeopardized if the name was blocked, but Judge Cooper ignored these concerns, finding no evidence that donations depended on the Trump inscription. Cooper reiterated the 1983 congressional amendment to the Kennedy Center’s founding law, which prohibits additional memorials or plaques in public areas, thus denying the board’s effort to give President Trump the recognition he deserves for his contributions to American culture and the arts.