Under what authority can Trump demolish the Kennedy Center and rebuild it?

[Doodley]

[RockRaven]

1. Under the same "fuck you, try to stop me" principle that he does everything abhorrent.

[Srkdqltr]

2. Did he say demolish ? I read close. Although, with him who knows.

[carpetbagger]

8. He didn't say demolished, but it seems as likely as not. nt

[IcyPeas]

13. His words are:

.... closed for Construction, Revitalization and Complete Rebuilding

Also, he's is closing it on July 4th.... in honor of the 250th anniversary of our country..... in honor of?? wtf?

Trump: "I have determined that the fastest way to bring The Trump Kennedy Center to the highest level of Success, Beauty, and Grandeur, is to cease Entertainment Operations for an approximately two year period of time, with a scheduled Grand Reopening that will rival and surpass anything."

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-02-01T23:27:17.347Z

[nuxvomica]

21. construction means demolition to him

When they were demolishing the East Wing he referred to the noise as the sound of "construction".

[tritsofme]

3. Didn't he stack its governing body with lackeys? I don't think it's much more complicated than that.

They approve whatever he wants

[CurtEastPoint]

4. yes and they name his orange ass chairman so there you have it.

[LastDemocratInSC]

14. I think he declared himself as chairman.

[Bayard]

5. What?

Is that on his demolition list now too?

[ananda]

6. He wants to destroy anything that outclasses him.

When his world looks bad enough, then he
feels that he looks good in comparison.

[In It to Win It]

7. There's a legal loophole called "who's going to stop me?" and he seems to be using it very effectively

Last edited Mon Feb 2, 2026, 12:59 AM - Edit history (1)

[DFW]

9. It's the little-cited clause known as:

“Whatcha-gonna-doaboutit.”

As with the “exquisite remake” of the East Wing of the White House, approval appears to be less than universal.

[Skittles]

10. the same authority he has to do EVERYTHING he is doing

who the FUCK is going to stop him?

[JBTaurus83]

11. He can do whatever he wants

The American people allow it through their elected reps and court system.

[The Bopper]

12. They'll just

Chisel off the "Kennedy" and Shazam, it's all fixed up and new...

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

17. Spray on some gold paint

[AverageOldGuy]

15. The No-Longer-Very Supreme Court said . . .

. . . If the President does it, it's fine with us.

[czarjak]

16. "What have you got to lose?"

Was a threat!

[Warpy]

18. Sam authority as demolishing the White House East Wing

The son of a bitch jjust says he's got a lot of money so he owns the country and does whatever vandalism he wants to do.

I have to hope this shit catches up to him and that he has to pay for the restoration work.

[CBHagman]

22. I've never checked for a full list of all the workers and vendors he's left unpaid...

...but I always had the impression it was extremely long.

Now that I think of it, I should have mentioned unpaid taxes, too.

[summer_in_TX]

19. Looks to me like he's trying to save face after all the cancellations.

His narcissism can't handle the injury.

[CBHagman]

23. It's like his insistence he won three elections in a row.

President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. lives rent-free in that head of his.

[love_katz]

20. $hitler probably decided to close it for 2 years, because no one wants to perform there.

There's been lots of cancelations since he took it over and slapped his nasty name and vibes on it.
And, yeah, it's another way for A__ Crack Dingleberry to thumb his nose at the rest of us.