The Kennedy Center — a taxpayer-subsidized monument to coastal elites — is on the brink of bankruptcy and could close as soon as Tuesday, and no working family should bail it out.
An internal 57-page report warns the Washington, D.C. institution won't be able to make payroll or cover routine maintenance within weeks, according to documents obtained by the Washington Post. The building is literally falling apart: a section of ceiling plaster dropped 60 feet in the Grand Foyer on September 4, and management now deems the structure "unsafe for continued occupancy," recommending immediate closure of the main building. This is the same institution that for years staged programming celebrating every progressive cause except the faith, family, and values of the Americans whose taxes subsidize it.
The board's proposed rescue? Slap Donald Trump's name on the facade. Trump has offered to raise the money to keep the center afloat — but only with "appropriate recognition" of his role. Board member and Trump ally Paolo Zampolli told the New York Times: "Trump attracts money. So when Trump says donate to this place, everyone will donate." The board is even choosing among 10 inscriptions, including one reading "Renovation Restoration and Endowment overseen by President Donald J. Trump and the Trump Kennedy Center Fund."
A judge already ruled adding Trump's name to the building was illegal. The lettering came down in June. The board voted again in August to restore it and close for a multiyear renovation. Lawyers for the center argued in court that hundreds of millions in pledged private donations would have to be returned if Trump's name stays off the facade, citing the institution's bylaws. The board agreed to hold off until at least October 8.
Here's the bottom line: the center expected to collect roughly $124 million of its projected $220 million in revenue last fiscal year, leaving a $23 million deficit even after "substantial spending cuts," the Post reported. A center spokesperson blamed "financial mismanagement by previous leadership."
There's plenty of blame to go around. Trump installed himself as chairman in February 2025 after firing 18 Biden-appointed board members. The remaining trustees — including White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and second lady Usha Vance — voted him in, breaking decades of precedent keeping sitting presidents at arm's length. The board fired president Deborah Rutter, who'd served since 2014. The shake-up drove artists out the door: board treasurer Shonda Rhimes, National Symphony Orchestra adviser Ben Folds, opera singer Renée Fleming all resigned. Actor Issa Rae pulled her sold-out show. Subscription sales dropped 36% by June 2025, and ticket sales kept sliding to pandemic-era lows.
CNN and the Post framed the crisis as the latest consequence of "Trump's takeover." The Guardian called it "a remarkable new phase" in that takeover. Al Jazeera noted the center was named for a president "who championed civil rights before he was assassinated." What none of them dwell on is the foundational question: why should a building that elite artists can empty on a political whim, that can't keep plaster on its ceiling, and that runs nine-figure shortfalls — why should that building get a single dime from a factory worker in Ohio or a mechanic in Texas?
The Kennedy Center receives federal funding year after year. Both parties have preserved those subsidies. That's the bipartistian failure — a permanent subsidy for an institution that serves the coastal class and treats heartland America's values as a punchline. Now it's broke. Let the donors who allegedly demand Trump's name on the marquee save it, or let it close. The American taxpayer is not the backstop for an arts palace that wouldn't stage a production celebrating ordinary American life if its endowment depended on it.
