Judge rules Trump’s name cannot be displayed on Kennedy Center in any way President Donald Trump claimed a part of the Kennedy Center collapsed in an unhinged Truth Social post in which he lashed out against a Tuesday ruling by a federal judge that said Trump’s name could not be put on it in any way, shape or form Jeremiah Hassel Senior U.S. News Reporter 12:55 ET, 15 Sep 2026

The Kennedy Center on Sept. 2, 2026, in Washington, D.C.
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Trump raged on Truth Social about the judge’s ruling, which said that his name could not be attached to the center in any way(Image: Getty Images)
A federal judge ruled that the Kennedy Center could not honor President Trump with an inscription on the institution’s exterior, blocking the center’s board’s effort to restore the president’s name to it.

Judge Christopher Cooper ruled, “Simply put, Defendants cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress’s blessing.”

The Trump-aligned board at the Kennedy Center voted in August to inscribe the president’s name on the venue’s facade so it would read “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated By President Donald J. Trump.”

If the Trump Kennedy Center Fund reached $100 million, another inscription would be added that reads, “Endowed by the Trump Kennedy Center Fund.”

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The plaza in front of the Kennedy Center would have also been renamed in Trump’s honor, as part of the board’s vote.

Trump claims piece of Kennedy Center nearly crushed security guard
Trump claimed the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is collapsing in an unhinged Truth Social tirade minutes before the ruling on Tuesday, claiming without providing evidence that a massive piece of concrete and steel fell down and could have killed people had the building been open.

“The Kennedy Center is in a virtual state of collapse, and has been for many years. A large piece of concrete and steel just dropped down, in a thud, from the ceiling of a heavily trafficked main hallway. If the Building were open, innocent people would have been killed,” the president claimed.

Workers remove the sculpture “Blue” by artist Joel Shapiro on the grounds of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026
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Trump raged on Truth Social about the judge’s ruling, which said that his name could not be attached to the center in any way(Image: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
“A security guard had just passed the area, one minute prior to this ceiling collapse. He was, therefore, 60 seconds away from certain death,” he added.

“The Judge has made us keep it open even though there are no performances, and no people that would have the Courage to even go in.”

Trump added the Kennedy Center board “has strongly voted to save it” and claimed, “They know I’m the only one who can do so, because I have the ability to raise the money, and the ability to construct — that few others have.”

The president threatened in his Truth Social post to leverage the power of the presidency to fight against the judge’s order, writing, “I also have the strength and power of the Presidency, which will be needed do what must be done, and give it a strong shot at Greatness again!”

Trump attends an arrival ceremony at Áras an Uachtaráin on Sept. 12, 2026, in Dublin, Ireland.
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Trump lashed out against the judge in his post(Image: Charles McQuillan, Getty Images)
The rest of his post consisted of Trump essentially tooting his own horn as he claimed it was “failing badly” before he took over.

“Remember, the Kennedy Center was losing Hundreds of Millions of Dollars when I took over. It was failing badly! It had nothing to do with me, I am only there to help,” he wrote. Him stepping in, he argued, serves as justification for his name to be on the building.

The center first affixed the president’s name in December after the Trump-allied board voted to add it to the institution’s formal title in recognition of his role in securing $257 million for a sweeping renovation project.

But in May, Judge Cooper ruled that renaming the center was unlawful and could only be done by Congress, which authorized the creation of the center in the first place and its dedication to President John F. Kennedy. At the time, he ordered the president’s name removed from the marble and the letters pulled out.

Trump claimed in his post that the judge’s ruling essentially sentenced the building “to doom.”

“I just got there to reveal the facts, but especially those concerning Building Safety. A very hostile and conflicted Judge (What else is new?) seems like he won’t let that happen, in which case, unfortunately, the Building is destined to doom. Isn’t that too bad?” Trump wrote.

“We have already wasted more than 6 months ‘playing around’ in Court. Time is our Enemy!” he continued. “The Board, comprised of some of the most prominent and respected people in our Nation, is meeting again today. It will be interesting to see what happens! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP.”