Democratic Ohio Congresswoman Joyce Beatty told CNN Tuesday that President Trump has kept a tarp up in front of the Kennedy Center’s entrance because he is “embarrassed,” confirming, “His name has been removed.”
In late May, a federal judge ruled that Trump’s attempt to rename the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts the “Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts” was unlawful. The judge decided that the ability to rename the center, which was dedicated to the late memory of President Kennedy in 1964, rests with Congress.
The Kennedy Center is in the midst of appealing the judge’s decision. It has nonetheless been confirmed that Trump’s name has been removed from the building’s facade, albeit behind enough tarp and scaffolding to hide the change from the eyes of everyday passersby.
It was Beatty, an ex officio member of the Kennedy Center board, whose lawsuit resulted in the removal of Trump’s name from the building. Speaking Tuesday with “CNN News Central” anchor Sara Sidner, Beatty said of the lawsuit, “We were very victorious because it was unlawful.”
“It’s another one of the things that Donald Trump does. I think he was embarrassed,” the Ohio representative added, when asked about the tarp and scaffolding currently obscuring the Kennedy Center’s entrance. “There’s no tarp that he can put up there to cover up what he has done.”
“I was there at 4 in the morning when the letters actually came down. So, I can tell you, his name has been removed,” Beatty further assured CNN viewers. “We are certainly standing up against this tarp to have it also come down.”
In March, it was ordered that Beatty be allowed to participate in Kennedy Center board meetings again. With that in mind, Beatty was asked about Trump’s controversial plan to close the center in order to make renovations to the building.
“The renovations are needed,” Beatty acknowledged. “We recognize that things need to be done to renovate it, but it can be done and still maintain being open.” Trump had previously announced a renovation project for the center that would require its closure for two years.
“I did what was right and we won because it was unlawful what Donald Trump did,” Beatty said of her legal battle against Trump. “We’re going to stay on this. The tarp will be coming down, and we will have it as the law created it to be: the John F. Kennedy Memorial.”
“We’re going to make sure that we bring programming back. That’s the next step,” Beatty further promised. “I’m going to stay on the board and speak up and also be someone who wants to make sure that we restore it and that we are having artists come back and that we do bring the National Symphony Orchestra back.”
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