Trump drops Kennedy Centre renovation plans after judge rules his name was illegally added to the institution.
WASHINGTON: United States (US) President Donald Trump has abandoned his renovation plans for the Kennedy Centre in Washington after a judge ruled that his name had been illegally added to the cultural institution, reported German Press Agency (dpa).
“Unless I am free to do what I do better than anyone else, bring this Institution back, physically, financially, and artistically, I have no interest in continuing what could only be a hopeless journey into ‘Never Never Land’,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
Trump said that he was transferring responsibility for the cultural institution to the US Congress.
Earlier on Friday, a Washington judge ruled that the Kennedy Centre’s board overstepped when it added Trump’s name to the centre, which “may not be officially named for anyone else except by an Act of Congress.”
District Judge Christopher Cooper ordered for the removal of “all physical signage on the Kennedy Centre building and grounds … after President Trump or any other individual besides President Kennedy” within 14 days.
“All references to the institution as the ‘Trump Kennedy Centre'” or “any similar formulations” are also to be removed from the centre’s website.
The judge, who was appointed by Democratic president Barack Obama, also ruled that the board’s decision to close the centre for two years for renovations was “ill-informed and seemingly preordained,” according to court documents.
Cooper temporarily halted the renovation work, which was due to begin in July.
“There has never been a President of the US who has been treated so unfairly by the Courts as I,” Trump commented in his social media post.
The Kennedy Centre hosts performances across theatre dance and music and was named after former president John F Kennedy (1917-63).
Trump’s name was added in December, sparking protests and cancellations by several performers and groups.
Shortly after taking office, Trump dismissed several members of the centre’s board and took over its leadership.
