Topline
Days after the Kennedy Center removed President Donald Trump’s name from the building’s facade to comply with a court order, a large tarp still blocks the signage from public view—and the center has been tight-lipped about when it will come down.
The tarp blocking the Kennedy Center’s sign on Monday morning. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Key Facts
Though the Kennedy Center says Trump’s name is no longer affixed to the building, onlookers haven’t been able to see it for themselves as a huge tarp has stood in front of the building for days, leaving just a few letters from the center’s original name peeking out.
The tarp is still up as of Monday morning, according to Fox 5 D.C., which reported live from outside the center around 8:30 a.m. EST.
In a court filing on Saturday, lawyers representing the Kennedy Center said it is now in “full compliance” with the court order to ditch Trump’s name, specifically noting it has “removed signage ‘that purports to rename the Kennedy Center after President Trump.’”
Kennedy Center officials had weeks to remove Trump’s name following a May ruling, but the center launched a last-minute legal battle to block the court order on Friday, which failed, though it is still pursuing an appeal that could take weeks.
Forbes has reached out to the Kennedy Center for comment on when the tarp will be removed.
what to watch for
Whether the center’s appeal eventually succeeds. Late last week, the center’s board of trustees voted to appeal the federal judge’s ruling that mandated Trump’s name be removed. The center also attempted to pause the judge’s ruling while the appeal plays out, but both a federal judge and an appeals court rejected their request for a stay. Kennedy Center officials have suggested in legal filings it would restore Trump’s name should it win an appeal, saying in a filing last week the center would “revert back to the current name”—referring to the “Trump Kennedy Center” name—if the appeal succeeds.
tangent
The tarp has disappointed onlookers who had hoped to watch Trump’s name come down from the building. The New York Times reported about 150 people had gathered in front of the center on Saturday, hoping to watch Trump’s name be removed, but the tarp blocked their view. After the appeals court rejected the Kennedy Center’s attempt to pause the directive to remove Trump’s name Friday night, about 100 onlookers erupted in cheers, the Washington Post reported. Tim Terpstra, a Washington, D.C. resident, told CNN over the weekend he visited the Kennedy Center twice to see the removal of Trump’s name. “It would be nice to be able to see to make sure that it is down, and no vestiges of what was up there still remain,” he said.
surprising fact
Despite the court ruling, the Kennedy Center board of trustees voted to establish an endowment fund that bears Trump’s name. The fund, called the “Trump Kennedy Center Fund,” is intended to “recognize President Donald J. Trump’s significant contributions and dedication to America’s premier cultural center,” Roma Davari, the Kennedy Center’s vice president of public relations, told CBS News on Sunday. Davari said the center remains “fully compliant with the court’s directive,” and CBS News reported the endowment will focus on the “physical disrepair” of the building, citing an unnamed source familiar.
key background
U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper ruled in late May the Kennedy Center had two weeks to remove Trump’s name from all physical and digital materials. Cooper cited the center’s establishing law, which says the Kennedy Center’s name cannot be changed without congressional approval, saying the law “makes crystal clear that the Center is to be named for President Kennedy.” The Kennedy Center board of trustees, hand-picked by Trump, had voted to add Trump’s name to the center in December. Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, filed a lawsuit challenging the addition of Trump’s name, citing the center’s establishing law. Trump blasted Cooper’s ruling, suggesting in a post on Truth Social he should be “brought up on charges” for conflict of interest because his wife, Amy Jeffress, is a personal counsel to former President Joe Biden. Trump has embarked on a broader takeover of the Kennedy Center, purging the board and replacing its members with allies as he has denigrated the center’s “woke” programming.
further reading
Judge Blocks Kennedy Center Bid To Keep Trump’s Name — As Construction Crews Prepare To Take It Down (Forbes)
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