Trump Announces Kennedy Center Closure Due to 'Renovations' — Not Poor Sales, Artist Boycotts

President Donald Trump revealed that his special project, Washington, D.C.’s famed Kennedy Center, will close for two years to undergo renovations.

The President said the venue will officially close on July 4, 2026, noting that the center has spent a year consulting with contractors, musical experts, art institutions, and other advisers and consultants to decide whether or not the venue will close and reopen or move forward with partial construction while still holding performances. Trump noted that “if temporarily closed for Construction, Revitalization, and Complete Rebuilding,” the venue “can be, without question, the finest Performing Arts Facility of its kind, anywhere in the World.”

“If we don’t close, the quality of Construction will not be nearly as good, and the time to completion, because of interruptions with Audiences from the many Events using the Facility, will be much longer,” Trump said. “The temporary closure will produce a much faster and higher quality result!”

“Based on these findings, and totally subject to Board approval, I have determined that the fastest way to bring The Trump Kennedy Center to the highest level of Success, Beauty, and Grandeur, is to cease Entertainment Operations for an approximately two year period of time, with a scheduled Grand Reopening that will rival and surpass anything that has taken place with respect to such a Facility before,” Trump continued.

“Therefore, The Trump Kennedy Center will close on July 4th, 2026, in honor of the 250th Anniversary of our Country, whereupon we will simultaneously begin Construction of the new and spectacular Entertainment Complex. Financing is completed, and fully in place!

“This important decision, based on input from many Highly Respected Experts, will take a tired, broken, and dilapidated Center, one that has been in bad condition, both financially and structurally for many years, and turn it into a World Class Bastion of Arts, Music, and Entertainment, far better than it has ever been before. America will be very proud of its new and beautiful Landmark for many generations to come. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Trump failed to mention that since he took over the center — installing himself as chairman, firing the president to replace with a longtime loyalist, and changing the name to the Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts — the venue has faced a slew of cancellations. Nearly 20 acts have cancelled performances at the venue, with many citing worries of the venue’s direction under Trump’s leadership.

Additionally, last fall, a Washington Post analysis found that ticket sales at the venue dropped sharply, showing that the institution sold only 57% of its available tickets since September — a steep decline from 93% during the same period last year.

The report points to a roughly 40% drop in seats sold and a 50% decline in total revenue since Trump was appointed chairman of venue board. Out of 143,000 available seats, about 53,000 went unsold — and some of those tickets were reportedly given away as complimentary “comps.”