Trump threatens to demolish the Kennedy Center if renovation is blocked

Trump said on 25 August 2026 that he would tear down the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, if he cannot carry out his planned two-year renovation, ARTnews reported. In February he told ABC News he was "not ripping it down." Administration lawyers separately warned the building may need to be "taken down" without proper renovation, the New York Times reported.