Trump addresses follow-up questions on 2-year renovation plans for Trump-Kennedy Center

OAN Staff Cory Hawkins and Brooke Mallory
11:30 AM – Tuesday, February 3, 2026

President Donald Trump intensified his defense on Monday of a planned two-year closure of the newly renamed Trump-Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, dismissing left-wing critics who have suggested that the shutdown is a political maneuver to mask a wave of artist boycotts.

“I have determined that the fastest way to bring The Trump-Kennedy Center to the highest level of Success, Beauty, and Grandeur, is to cease Entertainment Operations for an approximately two year period of time, with a scheduled Grand Reopening that will rival and surpass anything that has taken place with respect to such a Facility before,” the president said.

Speaking from the Oval Office, President Trump provided more details regarding the $200 million “restoration and beautification” project, which is slated to begin on July 4^th — coinciding with the nation’s 250th anniversary.

Trump also noted that the steel structure would be “fully exposed,” while promising that he wouldn’t be “ripping it down.”

“I’m not ripping it down. I’ll be using the steel. So, we’re using the structure. We’re using some of the marble, and some of the marble comes down, but when it’s opened, it’ll be brand new and really beautiful. It’ll be at the highest level,” he explained.

“The steel will all be checked out because it’ll be fully exposed.”

 

“… You know, we’re fully financed. And so, we’re going to close it, and we’re going to make it unbelievable, far better than it ever was, and we’ll be able to do it properly. I was thinking maybe there’s a way of doing it simultaneously, but there really isn’t,” he continued.

Trump further described the Center, which housed the official premiere of First Lady Melania Trump’s documentary last week, as too “tired, broken and dilapidated,” adding that it “has been in bad condition, both financially and structurally, for many years.”

“We can do a much better job, probably, in a way, a faster job in terms, you know, because when you do it piecemeal, for instance, they have a play tonight and you can’t do anything. You have to pull out everything, and you can’t have stanchions all over the place, and people are walking in to see a play. So, we’ll be closing it, sometime around July 4th. It’s like we’ll close it on July 4th in order to do something great for America, and then we’re going to build it,” he said.

On May 19, 2025, during a dinner for the then-Kennedy Center Board of Trustees, President Trump leaned into his “turnaround artist” persona, joking that he and the First Lady would take on the role of being “Mr. and Mrs. Fix-it” for the nation.

While addressing board members, the president stated that previous management had allowed the premier arts venue to become both ‘”dilapidated” and “woke,” specifically critiquing past expenditures on “Marxist” programming while the physical building suffered from stained marble and worn carpets.

Trump vowed to personally oversee a total revitalization of the center, a promise that culminated in his announcement that the Trump-Kennedy Center will close on July 4^th for the comprehensive two-year renovation.

“I don’t know what the hell they were doing, but they spent a lot of money, and it’s just not possible that they could have spent it so poorly. But we’re going to turn it around. That’s what I love doing,” Trump emphasized.

A few months ago, during the Center’s annual awards celebrating lifetime achievements in American performing arts, Trump remarked that the money raised that night would help fund the renovations.

“You know, we raised a lot of money tonight, tremendous, record numbers of dollars, a lot of money.”

While the formerly named “John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts” has stood as a national landmark since 1971, President Trump’s bold new vision aims to finally address decades of structural neglect and what he described as “gross negligence” by previous leadership.

By opting for a strategic two-year closure, President Trump is utilizing his real estate expertise to ensure the project is completed with maximum efficiency and “the highest-grade everything,” including a full overhaul of the building’s infrastructure and the installation of premium marble.

Last December, The Center’s new board voted to rename the center to include the president’s name.

Stay informed! Receive breaking news blasts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts

Sponsored Content Below