Workers in the US capital began removing President Donald Trump’s name from the facade of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday, after a federal judge ruled that its renaming was unlawful.
A white awning obscured much of the signage on the building’s exterior with loud noise echoing from underneath, as morning joggers stopped briefly in front of the venue to watch the work.
The effort came after a judge rejected a last-minute bid by the center’s board to halt the removal of Trump’s name, marking a setback for the president’s broader push since returning to the White House to place his name and image in official spaces — an abrupt break with American political tradition.
An eager crowd had gathered outside the arts center Friday night, cheering occasionally as workers erected scaffolding to take down the signage. Thousands monitored from afar via livestream, too, awaiting the moment when Trump’s name would be torn from the wall.
The work was delayed by “thunderstorms which presented safety concerns to workers” and was expected to be completed “in the early hours of the morning,” Kennedy Center Executive Director Matt Floca said in a statement.
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US District Judge Christopher Cooper, in a ruling last month, had ordered Trump’s name taken off the iconic building in Washington by Friday.
Cooper said in his May 29 ruling that the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts had been illegally renamed after Trump and only Congress has the right to change its name.
He gave the administration 14 days to remove Trump’s name from the marble facade and any materials linked to the venue.
The Kennedy Center dropped Trump’s name from the website of the institution earlier this week.
‘Unlawful government action’
On Friday, Cooper rejected a last-minute appeal by the center’s board to stay his ruling, prompting the center to request a 12-hour extension of the deadline to remove the signage.
The judge turned down the request, saying the public interest “is rarely served by the ‘perpetuation’ of ‘unlawful’ governmental action.”
Cooper has also issued a temporary block on Trump’s demand to close the Kennedy Center for two years of renovations, which was due to start in July.
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A furious Trump reacted by saying he was giving up control of the venue, which he seized at the start of his second term last year by naming himself chairman.
The center’s governing board, which Trump stacked with loyalists, voted to rename the venue the “Trump Kennedy Center” in December and the Republican president’s full name was added to the facade in large, all-capital letters above that of Kennedy.
A number of artists canceled scheduled performances following the move.
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The now-defunct US Institute of Peace was renamed after Trump, and his face stares down from huge banners outside the Department of Justice and Department of Agriculture.
The Trump administration is also seeking to have his image on a $250 bill to celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary of the declaration of independence from Britain.