Trump Mulling 'Kennedy Center Demolition'? Thousands in Fury Form Human Chain, Shouting 'Hands Off'

[Financial News] Thousands of angry citizens and artists staged a large-scale protest around the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts after reports emerged that U.S. President Donald Trump could demolish the iconic cultural and arts venue in the nation's capital, Washington, D.C.

According to The New York Times (NYT) on the 19th (local time), thousands of protesters gathered outside the Kennedy Center the previous evening, linking arms to form a human chain around the building while chanting, "Hands off," in opposition to its demolition.

Performing artists and center employees took part in large numbers, singing and playing music throughout the protest. Activists from groups including the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, D.C., whose performances at the center had previously been canceled under pressure from the Trump administration, also joined the demonstration.
Prominent figures also condemned the move. Lynda Carter, an actress from the film "Wonder Woman," and Robert C. White, Jr., a Washington, D.C., councilmember, visited the site. White said, "As long as we are standing here, we will not let him take this building away or destroy it. We will fight, even with our fists if necessary." Tara Hoot, one of the protest organizers, said the event, which initially drew around 100 people, had grown to its largest-ever size as controversy over the possible demolition intensified.

The catalyst for the explosive growth in the protests was a photograph taken aboard Air Force One on the night of the 16th. News cameras captured President Donald Trump examining a large panel that appeared to show an architectural rendering of a construction site beneath the heading "Kennedy Center DEMOLISHED."
The Kennedy Center has faced serious conflict over the past year and a half under a board filled with allies of President Donald Trump, including a sharp decline in ticket sales and the departure of artists. The board attempted to add Trump's name to the exterior of the center, but the courts blocked the move. The courts later rejected even a workaround that would have credited him for the remodeling.
The board then abruptly decided on the 15th to temporarily close the center, citing safety concerns—including falling ceiling materials—and financial difficulties. White criticized the move as "an attempt to destroy something after failing to steal what he could not have," calling it an overt act of retaliation against the venue named in honor of former President John F. Kennedy.

As the controversy escalated into a potential threat to the building itself, legal action followed. Joyce Beatty, a Democratic congresswoman from Ohio and a Kennedy Center board member, asked a federal court for an emergency hearing to block the demolition.
The federal court rejected the emergency hearing request on the 17th, but ordered the center to provide written notice at least 30 days in advance if it pursued major physical changes, including demolition. The order effectively blocked any unauthorized surprise demolition. Washington National Opera and the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO), resident organizations at the Kennedy Center, have been forced to move to other venues in and around Washington, D.C., because of the closure.
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