Donald Trump’s controversial handling of the Kennedy Center . It represented a belief in the importance of art to the life of a democracy. Streisand’s remarks come on the heels of a district judge ordering the Kennedy Center on Thursday to provide at least 30 days’ notice in advance if a demolition or new construction is planned after Trump threatened that the arts institution could “end up being ripped down” if it didn’t have his support.
The Trump administration has been a legal battle to allow the center to be renamed the “Trump-Kennedy Center” after his name be added to the building’s exterior, per board orders. A judge ordered his name be removed. The Trump-aligned board then relentlessly lobbied again to add his name, prompting another federal ruling that blocked their effort.
Streisand taped her “Funny Girl to Funny Lady” TV special at the Kennedy Center in 1975. Kennedy’s shocking assassination, Congress passed legislation designating the National Cultural Center as a living memorial to him. The Kennedy family and other American leaders wanted a meaningful way to preserve his legacy.
Re-naming the Cultural Center in JFK’s honor was a fitting choice, because he was a true champion of the arts. Since then, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has stood as one of America’s great cultural venues. Many of the world’s most accomplished actors, musicians, singers and dancers have graced its stages.
In 2008, I was deeply honored to be included in the 31st annual class of Kennedy Center Honorees. For me, and for so many artists, that honor represented something larger than a career recognition. That is why what is happening to the Kennedy Center is so galling and painful to witness.
When Donald Trump attempted to put his name alongside the late President Kennedy’s on the building’s entrance, the move was met with widespread opposition from artists and much of the public. A federal judge subsequently ruled that the Kennedy Center’s name could not be changed without an act of Congress, and Trump’s name was removed from the building’s façade. After his name was removed, a humiliated Trump ordered a large tarp placed over the façade, where it remains today.
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