{"id":2563498,"date":"2026-02-03T09:30:01","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T14:30:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-says-kennedy-center-repairs-wont-include-ripping-it-down-3\/"},"modified":"2026-02-03T09:34:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T14:34:08","slug":"trump-says-kennedy-center-repairs-wont-include-ripping-it-down-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-says-kennedy-center-repairs-wont-include-ripping-it-down-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump says Kennedy Center repairs won&#8217;t include &#8216;ripping it down&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrump-says-kennedy-center-repairs-wont-include-ripping-it-down-3%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2563498&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>President Donald Trump announced that the Kennedy Center will undergo about $200 million in renovations that are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fact-check-would-joe-bidens-build-back-better-agenda-cost-zero-dollars\/\" title=\"FACT CHECK: Would Joe Biden\u2019s Build Back Better Agenda \u2018Cost Zero Dollars\u2019?\">fully financed<\/a>, but will not involve tearing the building down.He said the updates will be extensive\u2014covering life-safety code upgrades, parking improvements, and structural and systems work (heating, air conditioning, plumbing, electrical, and stage equipment)\u2014and that when it reopens the venue will be \u201cbrand new and really beautiful.\u201d The project will require closing the center for two years starting July 4. Trump has previously claimed control of the center by becoming board chairman and adding his name to the building, a move that has drawn criticism and led some artists to cancel performances. White House officials say the goal is to transform the center into a \u201cWorld Class Bastion of Arts, Music, and Entertainment,\u201d while critics\u2014including members of the kennedy family\u2014have voiced opposition or concern about the implications of the name change and the center\u2019s temporary closure.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Trump says $200 million Kennedy Center &lsquo;maintenance&rsquo; won&rsquo;t mean &lsquo;ripping it down&rsquo;<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2492001\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump<\/a> said on Monday his extensive, &ldquo;fully financed&rdquo; renovations to the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/kennedy-center\/\">Kennedy Center<\/a>, estimated to cost $200 million, will not include fully tearing down the venue.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not ripping it down. I&rsquo;ll be using the steel,&rdquo; he told reporters in the Oval Office. &ldquo;So, we&rsquo;re using the structure, we&rsquo;re using some of the marble, and some of the marble comes down. But when it&rsquo;s open, it&rsquo;ll be brand new and really beautiful.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/infrastructure\/4443635\/helping-east-palestine-signature-promise-trump-recovery-years\/\">Helping East Palestine was a signature promise for Trump. Recovery will take years<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4443476\/trump-huge-cash-haul-gop-chance-defy-history\/\">Trump&#8217;s huge cash haul gives GOP chance to defy history<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4443443\/trump-tries-quell-gop-rebellion-funding-deal-save-act-no-changes\/\">Trump tries to quell GOP rebellion against funding deal over SAVE Act: &#8216;NO CHANGES&#8217;<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>On Sunday, Trump <span style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/posts\/115997939705121174\">announced<\/a><\/span>  that he will close the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/theyre-laughing-at-you-and-mocking-you-candace-owens-blasts-liberal-elites-over-covid-restrictions-mask-mandates\/\" title=\"\u2018They\u2019re Laughing At You And Mocking You\u2019: Candace Owens Blasts \u2018Liberal Elites\u2019 Over COVID Restrictions, Mask Mandates\">performing arts center<\/a> for two years, starting July 4, to allow time for major renovations. He described the building&rsquo;s current state as &ldquo;tired, broken, and dilapidated.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><em>NOTUS<\/em> acquired more details on the project from a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/white-house\/\">White House<\/a> official, who said the &ldquo;building maintenance&rdquo; includes updating the building to &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-says-kennedy-center-repairs-wont-include-ripping-it-down\/\" title=\"... says ... repairs won&#039;t include &#039;ripping it down&#039;\">current life-safety codes<\/a>,&rdquo; improving parking, and strengthening the building&rsquo;s structure with work on heating and air conditioning services, plumbing and electrical systems, and technical stage equipment.<\/p>\n<p>Construction will also include repairing and replacing parts of the building&rsquo;s exterior to ensure it lasts for a long time, according to the White House official.<\/p>\n<p>After entering office last year, Trump quickly assumed control of the Kennedy Center by installing himself as the board chairman and appointing allies to the governing body. The board then realigned the center&rsquo;s programming and later added Trump&rsquo;s name to the building.<\/p>\n<p>The official name, Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, drew pushback from Democratic lawmakers and <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >left-leaning performers alike<\/a>. Since then, many artists have canceled their performances for political reasons.<\/p>\n<p>The Kennedy Center&rsquo;s closure has also been met with criticism, including from members of the Kennedy family.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Trump can take the Kennedy Center for himself. He can change the name, shut the doors, and demolish the building. He can try to kill JFK,&rdquo; Jack Schlossberg, the grandson of former President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/john-f-kennedy\/\">John F. Kennedy<\/a> and a 2026 Democratic candidate, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/JBKSchlossberg\/status\/2018147548876128273?s=20\">posted on X<\/a>. &ldquo;But JFK is kept alive by us now rising up to remove Donald Trump, bring him to justice, and restore the freedoms generations fought for.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Health and Human Services Secretary <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/robert-f-kennedy-jr\/\">Robert F. Kennedy Jr.<\/a> has not directly commented on the closure since it was announced, but renaming the center has not been one of his major concerns.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I have bigger fish to fry,&rdquo; Kennedy <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/MAHA_Action\/status\/2016171006776205318\">said in an interview<\/a> last week, adding he&rsquo;s more focused on the nation&rsquo;s health. &ldquo;If I can save one child, it&rsquo;s more important than the name on any building.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Trump says his goal for the ambitious project is to transform the cultural institution in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/washington-dc\/\">Washington, D.C.<\/a>, into a &ldquo;World Class Bastion of Arts, Music, and Entertainment.&rdquo; Kennedy Center Board Chairman <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/richard-grenell\/\">Richard Grenell<\/a> shares that vision.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4442437\/kennedy-center-to-close-for-two-years-renovations\/\">KENNEDY CENTER TO CLOSE FOR TWO YEARS FOR RENOVATIONS, TRUMP SAYS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It desperately needs this renovation and temporarily closing the Center just makes sense &ndash; it will enable us to better invest our resources, think bigger and make the historic renovations more comprehensive. It also means we will be finished faster. President Trump has a reputation for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-says-kennedy-center-repairs-wont-include-ripping-it-down-2\/\" title=\"... says ... repairs won&#039;t include &#039;ripping it down&#039;\">delivering large construction projects<\/a> on time, under budget and beautifully finished,&rdquo; Grenell <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RichardGrenell\/status\/2018141248079712680\">wrote on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This will be a brief closure in retrospect,&rdquo; he added, &ldquo;and I am confident this sets the stage for a stronger, revitalized National Cultural and Entertainment Complex.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump: Kennedy Center renovation ($200M) not demolition<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2159,"featured_media":2563499,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP26030060528646.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[50410,56518,15256,3634],"class_list":["post-2563498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-controversy-2","tag-kennedycenter","tag-repairs","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP26030060528646.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2563498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2159"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2563498"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2563498\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2563502,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2563498\/revisions\/2563502"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2563499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2563498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2563498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2563498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}