Kennedy Center will close for 2 years for renovations in July, Trump says, after performers backlash

Associated Press (AP)CenterEN 3 min read 100% complete by By MICHELLE L. PRICEFebruary 2, 2026 at 12:53 AM

AI Summary

medium article 3 min

President Donald Trump announced that the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., will close for two years starting in July for renovations. The decision follows a period of performer cancellations after Trump replaced the center's leadership and added his name to the building in December 2025. Trump's announcement came shortly after the premiere of a documentary about First Lady Melania Trump at the Kennedy Center. The proposal is contingent on approval from the Kennedy Center's board, which is now composed of Trump's appointees. Trump stated the closure is intended to renovate the "tired, broken, and dilapidated" center.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Air Force One 30% Florida 30% Joint Base Andrews 30% The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center For The Performing Arts ×350% Washington ×260% Melania Trump ×270% Kennedy Center ×685% Donald Trump ×590%

Keywords

kennedy center 100% renovations 80% donald trump 80% performing arts venue 70% closure 70% performers backlash 60% board of trustees 50% washington d.c. 40% melania trump 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Negative

Score: -0.30

Source Transparency

Source

Associated Press (AP)

Political Lean

Center (0.00)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

Topic Connections

Explore how the topics in this article connect to other news stories

Network visualization showing 15 related topics

View Full Graph

kennedy center renovations donald trump performing arts venue closure performers backlash board of trustees washington d.c.melania trump

Explore Full Topic Graph