Trump Threatening to Demolish the Kennedy Center is Absolutely Insane
by Chris Peterson
According to CNN, lawyers for the Kennedy Center are now saying that if the building doesn’t get the renovations being pushed by President Trump and the current board, it could eventually get to the point where it would have to be demolished.
They even floated replacing it with an outdoor amphitheater overlooking the Potomac.
I’m sorry, but what are we doing here?
The Kennedy Center is more than 50 years old. Of course it needs work. I don’t think anybody is shocked by that.
But how did we get from that to talking about tearing down the Kennedy Center?
This is one of the most recognizable performing arts institutions in the country, and somehow demolition is now part of the conversation like we’re talking about replacing an old shopping mall.
And all of this is happening while there is already so much political nonsense surrounding the Kennedy Center.
There has been a very public fight over Donald Trump’s name being attached to the building. A federal judge ruled that the center couldn’t simply be renamed to honor Trump alongside Kennedy, and yet there have still been efforts to get his name on the property in other ways.
So, yeah, when the word “demolition” suddenly gets thrown into all of this, I think people have every right to wonder what exactly is going on.
Because this place has existed through Republican presidents and Democratic presidents. It has had different boards, different leadership, different eras. That’s kind of the point.
There is something really disturbing about watching a national arts institution become this wrapped up in the personality and politics of whoever happens to be in power right now.
The Kennedy Center belongs to the country. It is bigger than one administration and definitely bigger than one person.
And now we’re actually having a conversation about possibly tearing it down?
That should make anyone who cares about the arts uncomfortable.
I genuinely cannot believe this is where we are.