Trump Administration Warns Kennedy Center Could Be Demolished If Renovations Are Blocked

The Trump administration has raised the prospect of demolishing the Kennedy Center if the president is prevented from carrying out his planned overhaul of the performing arts institution. In a court filing submitted Monday, Justice Department attorneys representing the Kennedy Center argued that the building could deteriorate to a point that would necessitate its demolition. If matters were to reach that stage, they wrote that a large outdoor amphitheater could be one replacement. “Without those efforts, the Center will deteriorate further into an unsafe, decrepit structure that will be required to be taken down, with a determination to follow on what to build on the site, such as a large outdoor amphitheater overlooking the Potomac River that has been proposed, by some, for many years. Such a replacement will fail to adequately honor President John F. Kennedy, but would be simpler and more economical to build, operate, and maintain.” According to The Washington Post, this marks the first time Donald Trump’s allies have explicitly raised demolition as a possible fate for the building. A spokesperson for the venue subsequently emphasized that the scenario was hypothetical and would ...