Trump’s name removed from Kennedy Centre
The work was done behind a tarp, to the frustration of onlookers hoping to witness a dramatic moment symbolising the limits of Trump’s power
The letters spelling out US President Donald Trump’s name on the facade of the Kennedy Centre are now gone, the executive director of the performing arts venue said in a legal filing on Saturday with the court that had ordered the removal.
A tarp continued to hang over the scaffolding constructed for workers to remove Trump’s name from the building, making it impossible to immediately detect whether the only words remaining on its white marble portico are “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts”.
Matt Floca, who is also the centre’s chief operating officer, told the court that he was a “responsible official of the Kennedy Centre” qualified to certify compliance with the order.
He wrote that the board of trustees and the centre have removed “all physical signage on the Kennedy Centre building and grounds, including the front portico, that purports to rename the Kennedy Centre after President Trump”.
That declaration to US District Judge Christopher Cooper came after a day of legal manoeuvres and thunderstorms, and hours after workers had begun the process of removing the Republican president’s name.
They started hours past the original court-ordered deadline, later extended to noon, and did their work shrouded by the tarp, much to the frustration of onlookers who had gathered for hours hoping to witness a dramatic moment symbolising the limits of Trump’s power.