Donald Trump has said the Kennedy Center will close for two years in plans that are fuelling the growing controversy over the Washington DC arts venue.
The national cultural centre opened in 1971 and was named after President John F. Kennedy by Congress as a “living memorial” to the assassinated president.
Mr Trump angered many, including Kennedy family members, in December when the board he picked to run the venue backed a move to rename it the the Trump-Kennedy Center.
A wave of cancellations by leading performers, musicians and groups including the Washington National Opera and composer Philip Glass, followed. Glass announced his decision to withdraw his Symphony No 15. ‘Lincoln’ was based on the values of the centre being in “direct conflict” with the message of the piece.
Now Mr Trump has announced on social media that the historic venue will close on 4 July for construction for two years, subject to board approval, which comes just days after the premiere of his wife’s documentary “Melania” was shown there.
“This important decision, based on input from many Highly Respected Experts, will take a tired, broken, and dilapidated Center, one that has been in bad condition, both financially and structurally for many years, and turn it into a World Class Bastion of Arts, Music, and Entertainment,” the US president wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Neither Trump nor Kennedy Center president Richard Grennell has provided evidence to back up claims about the building being in disrepair, despite Trump’s pledge in October last year that it would remain open during renovations.
Read more by Sky News:
Why artists are boycotting Kennedy Center
Trump-handpicked board votes to rename Kennedy Center
Grennell said he was grateful for Congress for finding $257 million for the building and said it would be a brief closure.
“It desperately needs this renovation and temporarily closing the Center just makes sense – it will enable us to better invest our resources, think bigger and make the historic renovations more comprehensive. It also means we will be finished faster,” he said in a post on X.
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
On Sunday night Maria Shriver, a member of the Kennedy family, posted on social media suggesting the closure of the venue was meant to deflect from the cancellations.
She said that “entertainers are canceling left and right” and the president has determined that “since the name change no one wants to perform there any longer.”
Kerry Kennedy, a niece of John F. Kennedy, has said in a social post on X that she will remove Trump’s name herself with a pickax when his term ends.
