Donald Trump's name has to be removed from the Kennedy Center within two weeks after being illegally added
Topics: Donald Trump, US News, Politics, News
Rhianna Benson
Featured Image Credit: Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images
Topics: Donald Trump, US News, Politics, News
Donald Trump has two weeks to remove his name from the John F. Kennedy Memorial Centre for the Performing Arts, after his team illegally added it to the monument's official title.
House Republicans first proposed the renaming of the landmark last July. And naturally, Trump - who appointed himself to the position of the centre's chairman months earlier, firing several prior board members - rigorously backed the suggestion.
Despite pushback, the right-wing administration quietly added Trump's name to the building’s exterior earlier this year, as well as to the centre's official website and its marketing materials.
Following the illegal move, a federal judge has ordered the removal of Trump's name after it was found that his team hadn't consulted Congress on their plan before implementing it.
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US District Court Judge Christopher Cooper ruled on Friday (29 May) that the MAGA-aligned Kennedy Centre board violated the law in failing to disclose its intentions. More specifically, he alleges the Trump-appointed board acted against a law prohibiting the renaming of the centre that was first put into place in 1964, seven years prior to John F Kennedy's assassination.
The move had been criticised by Democrat, board member and Ohio rep Joyce Beatty, who claimed she was prevented from voting against the order last year, despite the White House insisting in December that the board had voted unanimously to include Trump's name.
"Clearly, the Congress has a say in this. This centre, the Kennedy Centre, was created by Congress. I think it's important for us to know that this is just another attempt to evade the law and not let the people have a say," she said.
Beatty's claim was later backed by JFK's own grandson, Jack Schlossberg, who alleged that 'microphones were muted' during the vote, 'and the board meeting and vote NOT unanimous'.
In his ruling, Cooper simultaneously blocked Trump's board of trustees from closing the cultural landmark for two years, for 'construction, revitalisation and complete rebuilding'.
The political leader announced this plan in a cabinet meeting back in March, telling attendees: "We're fixing up what was the Kennedy Centre. I was honoured when the board changed the name a little bit.
"Actually, it shows that the Republicans and the Democrats, they worked together. It's really something. We work together."
Cooper ruled that Trump's team must 'remove all physical signage on the Kennedy Centre building and grounds, including the front portico, that purports to rename the Kennedy Centre after President Trump or any other individual besides President Kennedy' within 14 days.
This includes, but is not 'limited to the signage that currently reads "The Donald J. Trump And" on the front of the Centre's main building', he added.
Responding to the ruling, Roma Daravi, the centre's vice president of public relations and an avid Trump supporter, told AP her team is 'confident' that their appeal to reverse it would be approved.
She predicted the court would 'uphold the Board’s will to recognise President Trump’s historic contributions to our nation’s cultural centre'.
"We remain committed to pursuing every lawful avenue to ensure the Trump Kennedy Center is restored as a national cultural landmark for all Americans to enjoy,” Daravi continued.
Beatty, however, told PEOPLE of Cooper's decision: "Today’s ruling rightly affirms that this administration’s efforts to rename and close the Centre have no basis in law.
"The Kennedy Centre is an institution that belongs to the American people, not to Donald Trump.
"He has desecrated this sacred memorial for his own vanity."