On December 18, 2025, the board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts voted to rename the institution to the "Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts." U.S. President Donald Trump, in a February 1 Truth Social post, announced that the institution would be closed for two years for renovation beginning in July 2026.In his post, Trump revealed that he had been reviewing the venue for a year to decide between a full closure and reopening upon it's reconstruction"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."The institution has seen a wave of performers cancel events in recent months, along with the lowest ticket sales in the past few months. Trump had begun his takeover of the center in February 2025 and overhauled the board, which immediately named him the chair of the institution.More about Donald Trump's takeover of the Kennedy CenterAfter taking office, Donald Trump announced an aggressive plan to remote theexisting board of trustees, and oust its chairman, David Rubenstein. Trump installed loyalists of his administration, including new President Richard Grenell, his ambassador to Germany during his first term.Garnell cut the existing staff, hired political allies, and mandated a "break-even policy" for every performance and facility rental. The President also has control of the performances after he enacted the "Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture", mentioning that it's "not going to be woke."Following Trump's takeover, several artists and shows, including Steven Shwartz, the composer of the musical Wicked, and a group called Doug Vanrone and the Dancers, cancelled their performances. The Brentano Quartet, with Hsin-Yun Huang, while cancelling their performance, shared a statement noting,"Owing to the recent changes at the John F. Kennedy Center, the Brentano Quartet and Hsin-Yun Huang have cancelled this engagement."Other artists that cancelled shows include composer Philip Glass, Grammy-winning Soprano Renee Fleming, Vocal Arts DC, Seattle Children's Theatre, The Martha Graham Dance Company, The Washington National Opera, singer-songwriter Sonia De Los Santos, composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz, The Cookers, Chuck Redd, and others.