Kennedy Centre adds Trump’s name to building one day after board vote

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By Se Young Lee

December 20, 2025 — 10.35am

Washington: Workers have added Donald Trump’s name to the John F. Kennedy Memorial Centre for the Performing Arts on Friday, a day after members of the venue’s board voted for the change despite questions about their legal authority to do so.

The centre was established in law as a “living memorial” to Kennedy just two months after his assassination in 1963, with Congress passing legislation to rename the building, which was being planned as a national cultural centre when Kennedy was killed.

Signage for the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Centre for the Performing Arts is unveiled on the Kennedy Centre on Friday in Washington.

On Friday morning, Trump’s name was added to the exterior of the centre, above the existing lettering that honours Kennedy. Washington’s premier arts venue also now refers to itself as “The Trump Kennedy Centre” at the top of its homepage.

The change, which may face legal hurdles, marks the latest effort by the administration and its allies to remake the capital in Trump’s image, including the renaming of the US Institute of Peace after the president and the construction of a new White House ballroom that may cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

The US Treasury is also considering minting a $US1 coin featuring Trump’s visage to commemorate the nation’s 250th birthday.

Security personnel speak to a protester as workers add President Donald Trump’s name to the John F. Kennedy Memorial Centre for the Performing Arts in Washington on Friday.

The arts centre board that renamed the venue was handpicked by Trump. The president said he was “surprised” and “honoured” by the decision.

The Kennedy family has spoken out against the move.

“It is beyond comprehension that this sitting president has sought to rename this great memorial dedicated to President Kennedy,” Maria Shriver, a member of the Kennedy family, said in a post on X on Thursday, when the board’s decision was first announced.