As the Kennedy Center’s fate hangs by a thread amid growing pressure from Trump, Rep. Joyce Beatty accuses him of being ‘unprofessional’
Clocked him instantly
The Kennedy Center closed Tuesday, the same day a federal judge blocked the Trump-appointed board’s effort to credit Trump for the building’s restoration by adding his name. U.S. District Judge Christopher “Casey” Cooper wrote in his ruling that the defendants “cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress’s blessing,” the Associated Press reported. The Justice Department has appealed the decision.
Rep. Joyce Beatty, an Ohio Democrat and ex officio member of the board, described a tense exchange with Trump during a virtual board meeting that day. Speaking on MS NOW, she said, “It was the most unprofessional thing that I’ve ever witnessed or been a part of,” The Daily Beast reported. She said Trump engaged in “name-calling,” including calling her an obstructionist and dumb.
“He said, ‘I think you’re incompetent.’ And I said, ‘I know you’re incompetent,’” Beatty said. AP, citing a participant who spoke anonymously, reported that Trump called Beatty “incompetent” and said she was “holding up everything,” and that she replied, “You’re holding up the whole country.” Trump, who chairs the board, said in the meeting that he had contributed $17 million to an endowment supporting the center, according to AP. The White House had not commented on the exchange at the time of publication.
Beatty said Trump also told her he would hold her responsible if something fell from the ceiling and hurt someone. “He said he was going to hold me responsible if something fell out of the ceiling and killed someone. And I told him, I said, ‘You’re already killing people. We’re at war,’” she said. Her account of the meeting could not be independently verified.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said the closing takes effect immediately but that renovation cannot begin until the D.C. Circuit rules on the board’s approved name. If the ruling is negative and is not overturned by the Supreme Court, he wrote, the renovation “will not take place.”
How the Fight Over the Kennedy Center Got Here
Since the start of Donald Trump’s second term, the John F. Kennedy Center has been embroiled in controversy. In February 2025, weeks after he took office, Trump dismissed several members of the center’s board and replaced them with his appointees. Trump then became chairman, giving him authority over key decisions about the building.
In December, the Board of Trustees voted to add Trump’s name alongside Kennedy’s on the building’s facade, naming it the Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. While Trump’s name was hastily added to the building’s exterior, Judge Cooper ruled against the change, and Trump’s name was removed shortly thereafter.
This summer, the board argued the building needed restoration and suggested that Trump could help if his name appeared on the exterior, with proposed language such as “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump.” Cooper blocked that proposal on Tuesday. In a recent filing, government lawyers said the center may struggle to raise renovation money without acknowledging Trump’s contributions and could deteriorate into an “unsafe, decrepit structure” that might need to be taken down, AP reported.
The administration has suggested the building could face demolition if Trump is not formally recognized, according to AP.
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