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The Kennedy Center is a reminder that we can win, it will be messy, and Trump will be petty
Law Dork
The Kennedy Center is a reminder that we can win, it will be messy, and Trump will be petty
The illegal effort to put Donald Trump's name on the Kennedy Center has always been a metaphor — but, this weekend, it became a story of how we get through this.
Chris Geidner
Jun 13, 2026
{snip}
As of Saturday afternoon, the tarp remained covering the front of the building where Trump’s name had been affixed 24 hours earlier. (Yes, Law Dork also confirmed that the name was down by looking along the wall.) ... It was what a resigned, petty loss looks like. ... But, it was also what a win looks like.
The lessons to take from the Kennedy Center debacle — itself by no means over — are essential to understanding how we get out of this moment and, in particular, how we move forward while Trump remains in power.
First: Stand up, speak out, and challenge them. Beatty’s lawsuit, like so many over the past 17 months, was the result of a person who thought the Trump administration did wrong and lawyers willing to back that person up in that fight.
Second: Remember that this is not a quick process, especially not litigation. It took nearly six months for this clearly illegal act to be reversed.
Third: Realize they’re going to push back — and that they’re going to get more unhinged as you are closer to winning. Friday’s D.C. Circuit filing was embarrassing (at best), but, at this point, it should not have been unexpected.
Fourth: Support one another. From the support Beatty got for her effort to the guy going around offering pizza to people at the Kennedy Center on Friday night, Trump’s effort to destroy community is best combatted by simply not allowing it.
Fifth: Be ready for the fact that they’re not going to be nice about the losses — and that there will be malicious compliance and passive aggressive compliance (as well as, yes, noncompliance at times). But, as here, even the temporary noncompliance was a sign of how much this win mattered — and gave way to compliance by morning.
Sixth: Celebrate the wins. They purported to change the name, it was despised and also illegal, Beatty sued, the lawyers did their job, the judges did as well, and — after an absurd 48 hours — they took down his name. Take the W.
Seventh: Get up the next day, and start it all over again.
Law Dork brings you independent, in-depth legal and political journalism that seeks to hold government and other public officials accountable. Support Chris Geidner’s reporting by becoming a paid or free subscriber today.
The Kennedy Center is a reminder that we can win, it will be messy, and Trump will be petty
The illegal effort to put Donald Trump's name on the Kennedy Center has always been a metaphor — but, this weekend, it became a story of how we get through this.
Chris Geidner
Jun 13, 2026
{snip}
As of Saturday afternoon, the tarp remained covering the front of the building where Trump’s name had been affixed 24 hours earlier. (Yes, Law Dork also confirmed that the name was down by looking along the wall.) ... It was what a resigned, petty loss looks like. ... But, it was also what a win looks like.
The lessons to take from the Kennedy Center debacle — itself by no means over — are essential to understanding how we get out of this moment and, in particular, how we move forward while Trump remains in power.
First: Stand up, speak out, and challenge them. Beatty’s lawsuit, like so many over the past 17 months, was the result of a person who thought the Trump administration did wrong and lawyers willing to back that person up in that fight.
Second: Remember that this is not a quick process, especially not litigation. It took nearly six months for this clearly illegal act to be reversed.
Third: Realize they’re going to push back — and that they’re going to get more unhinged as you are closer to winning. Friday’s D.C. Circuit filing was embarrassing (at best), but, at this point, it should not have been unexpected.
Fourth: Support one another. From the support Beatty got for her effort to the guy going around offering pizza to people at the Kennedy Center on Friday night, Trump’s effort to destroy community is best combatted by simply not allowing it.
Fifth: Be ready for the fact that they’re not going to be nice about the losses — and that there will be malicious compliance and passive aggressive compliance (as well as, yes, noncompliance at times). But, as here, even the temporary noncompliance was a sign of how much this win mattered — and gave way to compliance by morning.
Sixth: Celebrate the wins. They purported to change the name, it was despised and also illegal, Beatty sued, the lawyers did their job, the judges did as well, and — after an absurd 48 hours — they took down his name. Take the W.
Seventh: Get up the next day, and start it all over again.
Law Dork brings you independent, in-depth legal and political journalism that seeks to hold government and other public officials accountable. Support Chris Geidner’s reporting by becoming a paid or free subscriber today.