What People Are Saying About the Current Coverings. Some visitors complained that they couldn't see the building's exterior very well. A visitor from New York, on a Washington internship, said it seemed there were efforts to divert attention from the situation. Another visitor from Maryland said the broader effort was an effort to weaken symbols associated with the country and that it was part of a larger pattern of change. A third visitor, a Washington, D.C., resident who went to the site twice over the weekend, said he hoped the tarps would be removed soon so people could see for themselves that there was no trace of the name left.
The Legal Ruling That Led to the Removal. The removal came after an appeals court declined to temporarily block a federal district judge's ruling that the venue acted illegally when Trump's name was put on the building in December. Named after the assassinated President John F. Kennedy, the building has great symbolic importance to many inhabitants who regard the center as a long-standing cultural institution in the capital. Last week, the center had begun to take some steps to reverse the change in some areas, but the president's name remained on the building, and attempts were being made to delay full compliance with the court ruling.
How the Removal Occurred On Friday, crowds assembled outside the venue as workers started putting up scaffolding in front of the facade. Some protesters chanted to have the name removed, and at one point, workers were cheered. Video shot through a gap in the scaffolding appeared to show workers removing the lettering from the building's exterior in the early hours of Saturday morning. — Pending Litigation The Kennedy Center's appeal continues, and the legal battle will continue in the coming weeks.
The decision, made in December by a board of trustees selected by Trump to put his name on the building, led to several artists withdrawing from scheduled performances. The original legal challenge to the name change was filed by a member of Congress who is an ex officio trustee of the board and who posted a celebratory social media post following the weekend's news. Broader Changes to Washington Under the Trump Administration. The Kennedy Center case is one piece of a broader wave of changes to Washington's landmarks in Trump's second term.
The venue has kept up a busy schedule of events in recent days, including an awards ceremony in December, a documentary premiere tied to the first lady, and a civics competition for high school students, all in keeping with the president's cultural tastes. Other changes around the capital have included alterations to the White House Rose Garden, the razing of the East Wing to make room for a new ballroom, and a change to the color of the reflecting pool near the Lincoln Memorial. Other projects reportedly include a golf course, a giant arch near Arlington National Cemetery, and a sculpture garden on the Potomac River. Separately, the administration has reviewed exhibits at the Smithsonian Institution, reinstalled a Confederate monument, and altered descriptions at a memorial to a founding father about his history as a slave owner.
