I don’t really think it is a secret that Donald Trump wants his name slapped on a building in D.C., even if he has to build a ballroom to do it.
It won’t take that long, but I am not sure how long it will last. I am referring to the board of the Kennedy Center voting to change the name to the Trump-Kennedy Center.
The renaming went over like a ton of bricks with Democrats, and they are already making moves to block it based on federal law.
The announcement was made by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who posted, “I have just been informed that the highly respected Board of the Kennedy Center, some of the most successful people from all parts of the world, have just voted unanimously to rename the Kennedy Center to the Trump-Kennedy Center, because of the unbelievable work President Trump has done over the last year in saving the building.”
Her post continued, “Not only from the standpoint of its reconstruction, but also financially, and its reputation. Congratulations to President Donald J. Trump, and likewise, congratulations to President Kennedy, because this will be a truly great team long into the future! The building will no doubt attain new levels of success and grandeur.”
The board announced that this showed “unequivocal bipartisan support” in renaming the center to add Trump to the marquee. However, there is already pushback on that. Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH), a former member of the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees, stated, “I was on that call, and as I tried to push my button to voice my concern, to ask questions and certainly not to vote in support of this, I was muted. Each time I tried to speak, I was muted.”
She continued, “Participants were not allowed to voice their concerns who were online. Yet, it was said at the end, it was a unanimous vote. For the record. This was not unanimous.”
When Trump revamped the board of the Kennedy Center, his hand-selected members then elected him as chairman of the board of the center, yet he now claims he was completely surprised by the honor.
Trump responded to the news, stating, "I was surprised by it, and I was honored by it. We're saving the building... That building was in such bad shape -- both physically, financially, and in every other way... The Kennedy Center is really back strongly."
Trump also touted the Dec. 23 showing of the Honors event, adding, “I think it’s going to get very big ratings. And the Kennedy Center is really, really back strongly.”
The event reportedly raised about $23 million in donations, the largest fundraising event the center has ever had since it started the Honors program.
So, there is one problem in all of this. The board never checked the law because the center’s name is actually protected in federal code. The National Cultural Center Act of 1958 and Public Law 88-260 protect the name of the center as a national monument, which means it will take an act of Congress to rename the center. And House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) pounced on this as soon as the announcement was made.
He stated, “The Kennedy Center Board has no authority to actually rename the Kennedy Center in the absence of legislative action.”
This was just a silly move on the part of everyone involved. The fact that they are not aware of the law relative to this is inexcusable. All Trump and the board did by doing this is ensure that no building will ever be named after Trump, including his ballroom, as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is already working on legislation to block any federal building from being named after a sitting president.
With the GOP in control of the House, Trump might have a chance of the ballroom name getting through the House, but the GOP is not likely to be in charge of the House by the time that happens. But it would still take 60 votes in the Senate, and that is not happening. This was just a silly move to me, and it is a stunt that is going to backfire in grand fashion.
