President Trump unloaded on U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper Sunday, blasting the jurist overseeing the ongoing legal fight over the Kennedy Center as “highly conflicted” as the administration pushes forward with its plans to overhaul the historic institution.
Trump took to Truth Social to argue the building is in dire need of an upgrade, writing, “Kennedy Center is an old and decrepit building that is badly in need of a major construction and public relations fix before it can attain greatness and prestige, perhaps far greater than ever before.”
He didn’t hold back on the financial state of the facility either, adding, “It has been losing a fortune for many years, and will continue to do so if the highly conflicted judge on the case doesn’t allow us to do what has to be done!”
Cooper, an Obama appointee, previously ruled that Trump’s name cannot be added to the building and ordered the removal of lettering that had been placed outside. The judge determined that only Congress has the authority to rename the center, since it was originally established by Congress as a living memorial to former President John F. Kennedy. The signage outside was subsequently covered with a tarp.
Trump’s blunt assessment of the building’s condition was backed up by Justice Department attorney Brantley Mayers, who told the court last Monday that the Kennedy Center was a “decrepit” structure badly in need of either renovation or demolition.
The administration insists the building requires extensive repair work. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick revealed Thursday that the renovation project carries an expected price tag of $257 million.
Lutnick also floated a compromise on the naming dispute, suggesting an acknowledgment be added beneath the center’s official name. He proposed the building remain the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, with an addition underneath reading, “Renovated and Restored by President Donald J. Trump.”
The Kennedy Center’s board, which had agreed to pause any move to attach Trump’s name to the facility, went on to vote in favor of adding an inscription beneath the center’s name reading: “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump.”
Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), who serves as an ex officio board member and has successfully fought Trump’s proposed changes in court, said Saturday that the ongoing legal battle may be enough to stop the president from demolishing the building entirely.
“This started back in December of 2025, so I’m a little more hopeful with this because we are in court,” Beatty said during an appearance on MS NOW. “He may have thought about doing it when he was ordered to take his name down. So I think there is a slight difference.”
