Is Trump Holding the Kennedy Center Hostage?

President Trump is at the center of a major fight over the Kennedy Center, one of America's most famous arts buildings. Some people say he is holding the building 'hostage' — meaning he is using it as a bargaining chip to get what he wants. What he wants is his name on the building, and until that happens, the Kennedy Center has gone dark.

The word 'hostage' usually means a person taken by force so someone can make demands. Kerry Kennedy, a niece of President John F. Kennedy, used that word to describe Trump's actions. A member of Congress, Rep. Joyce Beatty of Ohio, used the word too, and she even went to court to try to keep Trump's name off the building.

Trump has had a complicated history with the Kennedy Center. During his first term, he was the first sitting president ever to miss the Kennedy Center Honors — and he did it twice. But in his second term, he fired the board of directors and made himself chairman, expecting a warm welcome from the arts world.

Instead, many artists canceled their shows in protest. Things got worse when the board Trump put in place voted to add his name to the building. Ticket sales dropped sharply, fundraising fell apart, and the Washington Post reported that center leaders were telling the public things were fine even while money dried up behind the scenes.

In February, Trump announced he would close the Kennedy Center for two years for a $257 million renovation. He called the building 'dilapidated,' meaning run-down and in poor shape. He said he would restore it to glory, but not everyone believed that was the real reason for the closure.

This past week, a federal judge ruled that Trump's name could not be put back on the building's outside. Trump went on social media to complain, threatened to pull support for the renovation, and even suggested the building could be 'ripped down' if his name wasn't added. A photo also appeared of Trump holding a sign reading 'Kennedy Center DEMO[LISHED],' alarming many people who care about the arts.

A judge had already issued a temporary order blocking the building from closing, but people were forced out anyway and barricades went up outside. While the political fight rages on, the Kennedy Center sits empty and silent. For the performers and fans who loved it, that is a very sad thing.

Life in the arts goes on in Los Angeles, though. This week, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art officially opens to the public in Exposition Park, featuring more than 30 galleries and art connected to characters and creators like Luke Skywalker, Vincent Van Gogh, and Charles Schulz. The museum has over 100,000 square feet of space, and even its restaurant is already booked through the end of the year.

The weekend is packed with events around the city. The David Zwirner Gallery opens 'Roy DeCarava: the sound i saw,' featuring more than 130 photographs from the 1940s and 1960s, while two-time Tony Award winner Sutton Foster performs Broadway songs with the Pacific Jazz Orchestra at The Soraya in Northridge on Saturday. Sunday is great for museum visits, with shows at LACMA and the Museum of Contemporary Art in downtown L.A.

In theater news, the Pasadena Playhouse opened a new production of 'The Visit,' a revenge play critics are calling a refreshing success. Long Beach Opera also announced its 2026–27 season, to be performed aboard the historic Queen Mary ship. And the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles sued the Norton Simon Museum for the return of two 16th-century paintings believed to have been stolen by the Nazis during World War II.