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Workers were seen adding the president Donald Trumpname for the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., on Friday, following a unanimous decision by the board of trustees the day before renaming the building the “Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”
Large blue tarps were seen in front of the building's sign, and “Donald” was added above the name of the former Democratic brigade president.
As of 1:00 p.m. local time on Friday, the site's title had been changed to “Trump Kennedy Center.“
Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower created a federally supported national cultural center in Washington, D.C., in 1958, but fundraising later stalled.
Workers stand on a forklift near the sign “Donald”. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Kennedy revived the project in 1962, naming Broadway producer Roger L. Stevens as chairman and bringing in former first ladies Jacqueline Kennedy and Mamie Eisenhower, resulting in a major $30 million campaign.
After Kennedy's assassination, former President Lyndon Johnson signed legislation in 1964 to rename the center in Kennedy's honor as a living monument to him.
In February, Trump was elected chairman of the Kennedy Center board after removing 18 trustees appointed by the former president. Joe Biden.
National Guard soldiers march toward the Kennedy Center as work continues on exterior signage. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
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Under his leadership, Fox News Digital previously reported that the center is almost doubled fundraising under the Biden administration, raising a record $23 million.
“There was no damage to the Kennedy Memorial at all,” Kennedy Center Vice President for Public Affairs Roma Daravi wrote in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Trump raised over $131 million in private and corporate donations and forced Congress to appropriate $257 million for critical infrastructure needs, all to SAVE this institution. More than $250 million in deferred repairs were immediately required. Those people who are attacking now sat idly by while America's cultural center was slowly destroyed. Now the bipartisan Trump Kennedy Center is here for future generations.”
Trump discussed the award during a news conference Thursday, saying he was “surprised.”
“It’s been a great honor, but it’s a very extraordinary reign. [The] the most outstanding people in the country,” the president said. “It surprised me. I was given this honor. …We saved the building. The building was in very poor condition – physically, financially and in all other respects. Now it’s very hard, very strong.”
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Maria Shriver, niece of John Kennedy, criticized this decision after Thursday's vote, calling it “incomprehensible.”
Workers use a forklift near the “Donald” sign above the Kennedy Center sign. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
“It's beyond comprehension that this current president tried to rename this great memorial dedicated to President Kennedy,” Shriver wrote in Post X. “It is beyond the pale that he thinks adding his name before President Kennedy's is acceptable. It's not.”
Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell responded to Shriver in an X post on Friday afternoon, saying she “ignored the former Kennedy Center for years—she didn't care when it fell apart.”
Fox News Digital has learned that all participants the board was invited personally attend the voting and eavesdrop on the proceedings, including those who were unable to vote.
Democratic ex-officio member Joyce Beatty, D.O.H. released a fiery video message Thursday claims the vote was not unanimous and that she was “muted” when she tried to speak.
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Earlier this month, the US State Department announced that the building housing the US Institute of Peace (USIP) had been closed. officially renamed Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace with “Donald J. Trump” added above the original USIP sign, like the Kennedy Center's.
The Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Fox News Digital's Michael Sinkevich contributed to this report.
