A surprise Kennedy Center makeover
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 3 February 2026
⏱️ 20 minutes
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Summary
In his second term, President Donald Trump has gone on a mission to reinvent the Kennedy Center, the beloved performing arts venue in Washington, D.C.
Trump promised to overhaul the center’s programming. He installed loyalists on the board who made him chairman. In December, Trump’s name joined John F. Kennedy’s on the building’s facade.
This week, Trump announced further plans to close the center for two years as he undertakes a massive renovation. Details of the plan remain murky, but Trump says he intends to overhaul even the building’s marble facade.
Style writer Travis Andrews has been reporting on Trump’s growing involvement with the Kennedy Center. Today, he joins Martine Powers to talk about why the president is so invested in the future of the institution — and why his plans have some people concerned.
Today’s show was produced by Emma Talkoff, Thomas Lu and Rennie Svirnovskiy. It was edited by Reena Flores and mixed by Sam Bair.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | In his second term, President Donald Trump has prioritized overhauling the Kennedy Center, |
| 0:07.3 | the performing arts venue here in Washington, D.C. |
| 0:12.5 | He criticized the programming, calling it too woke. |
| 0:16.8 | He swapped out the center's leadership. |
| 0:19.2 | That board named Trump the chairman. |
| 0:22.0 | And then most recently, the institution was renamed to the Trump Kennedy Center, |
| 0:27.8 | and Trump's name was added to the front of the building. |
| 0:31.4 | Now, Trump says he is shutting the whole place down for the next two years. |
| 0:36.7 | He says he is renovating it and that it will |
| 0:39.4 | be better than ever when it reopens. But a lot of people are not convinced. |
| 0:47.1 | From the newsroom of the Washington Post, this is Post reports. I'm Martine Powers. It's Tuesday, |
| 0:53.4 | February 3rd. Today, I talk with style reporter Travis |
| 0:57.2 | Andrews, who's been covering Trump's obsession with the Kennedy Center. We'll talk about what Trump |
| 1:02.6 | hopes to get out of reinventing this institution and why it might be harder than he thinks. |
| 1:14.3 | Travis, thank you so much for joining us. |
| 1:16.9 | Oh, thanks so much for having me. |
| 1:18.5 | Okay, so explain to me. |
| 1:19.9 | What exactly are Trump's plans for this Kennedy Center renovation? |
| 1:25.3 | That's a wonderful question, and it's one I wish we had the answer to. |
| 1:29.6 | Oh, man. You know, he has spoken for a long time about the center being, and what he calls |
| 1:35.5 | disrepair. Never really offering much proof of this, but he said that the marble is crumbling, |
| 1:42.0 | that it's infested with rats, that the elevators were broken. |
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