Particle.news

Wolff Says Trump Wanted 'Trump Center' as Two-Year Kennedy Center Shutdown Stokes Fears

Aides steered him to a compromise that added his name without congressional approval.

Overview

  • Author Michael Wolff said Friday that Trump initially pushed to strip John F. Kennedy’s name and rechristen the venue the Trump Center.
  • According to Wolff, Trump justified the move by saying, “I was almost assassinated… Therefore, it should be me,” before aides talked him into a compromise label.
  • Trump’s handpicked board voted Dec. 18 to add his name, and the center updated signage and its website despite formal changes typically requiring congressional action.
  • Trump announced last weekend that the Kennedy Center will close for two years starting July 4 for extensive renovations.
  • Former GOP operative Rick Wilson predicted in a Substack post that bulldozers could begin demolishing the building around July 5, a claim presented as his forecast and not confirmed.