While President Trump was leading a campaign to remake the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a comedy writer was busy securing the most intuitive web address for its new name, TrumpKennedyCenter.org, and turning it into a parody of the institution.
Now, the website is drawing attention as a backlash grows over the rebranding of the center to include Mr. Trump’s name. High-profile artists have canceled performances, and a federal lawsuit has challenged the renaming, saying that it requires an act of Congress.
Toby Morton, 54, a television writer and producer who has worked on the animated sitcom “South Park,” and “MadTV,” said on Thursday that he secured the domain in August, wagering that a name change would come after Mr. Trump purged several members of the Kennedy Center’s board and installed himself as its chairman.
“Since 2020, I’ve been grabbing domains tied to politicians and authoritarian figures and turning them into blunt, often uncomfortable reflections of what they actually represent,” Mr. Morton said in an email.
His bet paid off. Workers added Mr. Trump’s full name to the center’s marble facade last month. Its (real) website, kennedy-center.org, switched its header, identifying the institution as “The Trump Kennedy Center.” The center has not officially announced a new website.
Visitors to TrumpKennedyCenter.org, instead of seeing a schedule for the center’s usual slate of classical music, jazz, theater and ballet performances, are met with an announcement for a show by the “Epstein Dancers.”
A redesigned logo subtly depicts the building’s columns as prison bars. A banner at the top of the website proclaims the center “A National Institution Devoted To Power And Loyalty.” A disclaimer at the bottom says that it is, indeed, a parody.
“Beginning January 2026, TrumpKennedyCenter.org enters a new era of devotion, unity and inherited authority,” a message on the website says. “We exist to preserve what must endure, to honor what must not be questioned, and to gather those who understand that greatness is not chosen, it is recognized.”
On Monday, shortly after the parody website went online, Mr. Morton posted a screenshot of an encouraging message from Kerry Kennedy, a lawyer and niece of President John F. Kennedy, who has condemned the renaming.
The Kennedy Center and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment, including an inquiry as to whether they planned legal action against Mr. Morton to claim the domain.
Mr. Morton has performed similar stunts in the past, purchasing dozens of domains, which typically cost $10 to $25 per year, and building websites that mimic official government or campaign pages. They include satirical sites about two notable Texas politicians, AttorneyGeneralPaxton.com and GovernorGregAbbott.com.
“I’ve been doing this kind of work for years now, building sites that mirror and expose political power by using its own language against it,” he said.
Mr. Morton made his views about the center’s name change clear: “It’s almost performance art in itself. The irony of someone who has openly mocked artists, dismissed culture and shown nothing but contempt for the arts now positioning himself as their steward is kind of breathtaking.”
More content would be added to the site beginning this month, Mr. Morton said. “There will be video, surprise elements and contributions from performers and collaborators who’ve already reached out wanting to be part of it,” he said.
John Yoon is a Times reporter based in Seoul who covers breaking and trending news.
The post Trump Has Renamed the Kennedy Center, but a Satirist Owns the URL appeared first on New York Times.
