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President Donald Trump said he will close the Kennedy Center, Washington’s top performing arts facility, for two years for a “complete” renovation, in his latest move to remake the US capital in his image.
Trump made the announcement in a Truth Social post on Sunday, saying the temporary closure starting July 4 will help transform the facility into a place of “the highest level of success, beauty and grandeur.”
The US president has already attempted to put his stamp on the Kennedy Center, which opened in 1971 as a tribute to the late Democratic President John F. Kennedy, by placing top aides, including the special envoy and former US Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, as its chairman.
Trump also sought to rename the venue the “Trump Kennedy” Center and use it for high-profile events such as the FIFA World Cup draw in December and the top US-Saudi investment forum in November.
But as Trump sought to take control of the US capital’s top entertainment and culture venue – which hosts orchestras, operas, musicals and theatrical performances – it faced high-profile cancellations.
Recently, composer Philip Glass canceled a planned performance of his new symphony, saying that the Kennedy Center’s “values” were in “direct conflict with the message of the symphony.”
Trump said that the Kennedy Center reconstruction has already been fully financed, although he did not provide additional details on the project’s financing.
The decision follows his move to demolish the East Wing of the White House to build a ballroom at a cost of $400 million and convert the Rose Garden lawn into a patio by covering it with concrete.
Trump recently said he wanted to build a giant arch near Arlington Cemetery, modeled after the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
“I would like it to be the greatest. We are the greatest powerful nation,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One Saturday night while traveling to Florida for the wedding of Dan Scavino, one of his top aides.
According to the Washington Post, Trump’s arch, which aims to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence, will be about 250 feet tall, making it taller than the nearby Lincoln Memorial.
