What happens when politics collides with culture? Washington is about to find out.
Democratic Congresswoman Joyce Beatty has gone to court to try to strip President Donald Trump’s name.
It is from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Her argument is blunt: the rename wasn’t just controversial—it was illegal.
Last week, the Kennedy Center’s board, now stacked with Trump allies, voted to rebrand the iconic venue as the Trump–Kennedy Center.
Beatty, who sits on the board by law, says she was muted during the meeting when she tried to object.
In her lawsuit, she insists only Congress—not a board vote—can change the name of a federally designated memorial.
“This was meant to be a living memorial to President Kennedy,” the filing says, calling the move “more reminiscent of authoritarian regimes than the American republic.”
Cultural Clash Erupts
The White House sees it differently. Trump, a spokesperson said, “saved” the center by modernising it and fixing its finances.
It ended what it called “divisive woke programming.”
The board’s vote, they argue, marks a “new era” for the institution.
Critics aren’t buying it. Members of the Kennedy family quickly pushed back.
“You can’t rename the Kennedy Center any more than you can rename the Lincoln Memorial,” said Joe Kennedy III.
With Trump’s name now literally bolted to the building, the bigger question looms: can a cultural landmark stay above politics?
Or was it inevitable that the stage would become the battlefield?
