We might as well admit it: Donald Trump will never revitalize The Kennedy Center in Washington. It is dead, a victim of the President’s narcissism. Trump hijacked America’s living memorial to JFK. By adding his name to the center, Trump destroyed it.
And the Trump-Kennedy Center won’t be fit to serve as a living memorial to Kennedy (or anyone other than Donald J. Trump) after Trump “renovates” the building with gaudy gold decorations and other design details better suited for a house of ill-repute.
John F. Kennedy was a President who loved and listened to classical music, opera, and other fine arts. The national center for the performing arts was an exceptionally appropriate memorial. That makes all of us who have attended concerts, opera, and theater at the Kennedy Center, pausing during our visits to reflect on Kennedy’s memory, sad—and angry.
Throughout my years in Washington, I regularly attended concerts and other programming at the Kennedy Center. I recall the building opening in 1971 and experiencing joy that the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) finally had a proper home, one with great acoustics, good seating, and a design that shouted out dignity. JFK, I imagine, was in heaven looking down on the memorial dedicated to his memory with a smile on his face.
I hate to think what JFK might have been thinking last Friday as workers installed Trump’s name on the side of the building. Let’s not go there.
Because the Trump-appointed Trump-Kennedy Center board of directors likely did not have legal authority to rename the Kennedy Center, a future Democratic President (yes, there will be one) will remove Trump’s name. Also going will be what is likely to be a huge bust of Trump’s head, or of Trump raising his fist in the air after the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, in the Grand Foyer. The large portraits of Trump and J.D. Vance also would go, preferably on Inauguration Day.
Unfortunately, removing the desecration Trump is wrecking on the Center will never reverse the fact that, courtesy of Trump, there is no longer a memorial dedicated to John F. Kennedy in Washington. Some crimes cannot be undone.
Trump killed the Kennedy Center. It almost would have been better had he simply razed it, just like he did with the East Wing of the White House. I don’t expect to ever attend another concert or play at the Center. Period.
But what should I do if I am in Washington and want to hear the NSO perform? Unfortunately, unless something is done, the NSO will have nowhere for its concerts, at least nowhere appropriate.
One idea, one I would love to see, would be for donors, large and small, to build a new home for the performing arts in Washington, one that would not be funded, operated, or controlled by the federal government. It would be private, immune from the destructive impulses of a future Trump.
Americans that want to see JFK honored again should fund the construction of a new Kennedy cultural center and create a sizable endowment to guarantee its independence from future Presidents like Trump.
Ideally, the new Kennedy Center would, like the former one, include a world-class concert hall, a home for the Washington Opera, and a theater. It could also include high quality restaurants (no McDonald’s, please) and a small museum dedicated to JFK’s presidency. I would call the museum “The Camelot” museum and love to see “Camelot” performed in the new theater as the first production after opening.
What should happen to the “Trump Kennedy Center?” I would suggest Congress turn it over the Trump family with the stipulation that Kennedy’s name be permanently removed. Then the Trump family could take full responsibility for the facility. If the family wants to turn it into a venue for UFC cage matches or offer screenings of the upcoming Melania Trump biopic, titled “Melania,” of course, good luck to them.
President John F. Kennedy deserves to be honored with a cultural center that reminds all of America that Presidents can and should be role models that inspire Americans to ask not what the country can do for them, but what they can do for their country.
Happy Holidays!
J.E. Dean writes on politics, government, goldendoodles, and other subjects. A former counsel on Capitol Hill and public affairs consultant, Dean is an advocate for democracy, sanity, and the rule of law.
