Trump's Name Is Coming Off the Kennedy Center — Staff Ordered to Remove All References by June 12

On June 4, 2026, the Kennedy Center's Office of the General Counsel sent a memo to staff ordering the removal of all references to President Trump's name from the institution — complying with the federal court order issued six days earlier.

What the memo says

Staff were instructed to:

"Remove any references to the 'Trump-Kennedy Center' or 'The Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts,' and instead revert to 'The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts' or 'the Kennedy Center' or 'the Center.'"

The directive applies to:

• Email signatures — immediate
• Letterhead — immediate
• Marketing materials — immediate
• Templates and forms — by June 12
• Physical signage — by June 12
• Brochures — by June 12
• Website pages — by June 12

Workers were spotted on site by an Associated Press photographer on Wednesday, beginning the removal process.

What they found

The Trump branding had been applied unevenly across the center — a detail that tells its own story about how hastily the renaming was executed:

• A parking garage map was affixed with a "Trump Kennedy Center" label
• Programs for productions were emblazoned with "Trump"
• But concession cups still bore the original name
• Banners in the grand foyer still said "Kennedy Center"
• Digital tickets still used the original name

They renamed a national memorial to a murdered president, and they couldn't even get the cups changed. The grand foyer banners — the most visible interior element of the building — still said "Kennedy Center" six months after the board voted to add Trump's name. The renaming was never about the institution. It was about the man.

The gift shop

The center's gift shop had recently put all "Kennedy Center"-branded merchandise on sale — 30% off — ahead of the two-year closure that was supposed to begin this summer. The closure that a judge also blocked. So the gift shop discounted merchandise for a shutdown that isn't happening, bearing a name that is now being restored, at an institution whose board learned about the closure from a social media post.

The response

Kennedy Center spokesperson Roma Daravi: "We are complying with the court's order while evaluating all legal options to preserve this revitalization and recognize President Trump's leadership."

"Recognize President Trump's leadership." The leadership that drove away the Washington National Opera, the New York City Ballet, and the Martha Graham Dance Company. The leadership that installed Ric Grenell — a man with no arts experience — as president, who sold $2 million box seats for proximity to Trump. The leadership that resulted in collapsed ticket sales, departed executives, and a 94-page ruling finding that virtually everything the board did was illegal.

The timeline

1. December 2025: Trump's hand-picked board votes to rename the center after him — the proposal wasn't on the agenda, and a congresswoman was muted when she tried to object
2. January–May 2026: Major performing arts companies flee — the Washington National Opera, the NYC Ballet, the Martha Graham Dance Company
3. May 29, 2026: Judge Cooper orders the name removed and the closure blocked in a 94-page ruling
4. May 31, 2026: Trump posts 60+ times in 14 hours, attacks the judge and his wife, threatens the center will be "closed, probably never to open again"
5. June 1, 2026: Interior Secretary Burgum dodges compliance questions
6. June 4, 2026: The general counsel orders staff to begin removing Trump's name
7. June 12, 2026: Deadline for full compliance

Six months after Trump put his name on a memorial to John F. Kennedy, workers are peeling it off the parking garage maps. The programs are being reprinted. The email signatures are being updated. The name is coming down. It lasted less time than most of the performers he drove away had been affiliated with the center.