Kennedy scion accused Trump of ‘bankrupting’ Kennedy Center as ‘hostage taking’ name change battle persists

One of President John F. Kennedy’s nieces on Tuesday weighed in on President Donald Trump’s battle to rebrand the cultural institution named in honor of her uncle, accusing him of “hostage-taking” the Kennedy Center. 

Trump has fought for nearly a year to have the institution renamed after himself, and the center’s board has for months sought to work around a ruling from U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Cooper in May prohibiting it from renaming the institution after the president. When Cooper on Tuesday blocked the Kennedy Center’s board from adding any sort of a memorial to Trump on the building or site without congressional approval, the board responded by voting to close the institution immediately for a two-year renovation, to which Congress has allocated $257 million. Trump then issued a message stating the renovations would not take place unless his name is added to the building.