Kennedy Center claims re-adding Donald Trump’s name is only way to avoid bankruptcy

Officials at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts say the Washington, D.C. venue could close this week. And putting Donald Trump’s name on the building is the only way to save it.

New leaders for the center were installed by President Trump shortly after the beginning of his second term. The trustee board, which is chaired by Trump himself, will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, September 15, and a 57-page packet says the board could vote to completely shutter the venue because it risks “certain fiscal collapse” without a Trump renaming, according to The Washington Post.

Trump has offered to fundraise to keep the center open, but only if his name appears on the structure.

“Trump attracts money. So when Trump says donate to this place, everyone will donate,” board member Paolo Zampolli told the New York Times.

Related: Canceled shows and record lows: How Trump is killing the Kennedy Center

Of course, the center was doing fine until Trump’s takeover of the board. Before Trump’s return to power, the Kennedy Center presented over 2,000 events each year, making it the nation’s busiest performing arts center. It is the official home of the National Symphony Orchestra and the Washington National Opera.

But much of that changed with new leadership, which canceled many LGBTQ+-themed events, including family-friendly drag shows and Pride-themed events. Many artists also withdrew shows in protest, and some of those who didn’t nix dates ended up being heckled as new (and now-former) executive director Ric Grenell organized gay Republicans to disrupt shows by artists critical of Trump. Grenell stepped down in March, shortly after Trump announced the center would be closed for two years for renovations.

Now, the board seems poised to shutter a venue memorializing an assassinated president unless the sitting president gets to put his name on the walls.

Related: Judge demands answers on Kennedy Center’s Trump tarp of shame

Last month, attorneys for the administration suggested the prestigious center could be demolished if it didn’t honor Trump.

Trump put his name on the building before after a vote by the trustee board, affixing his moniker above that of Kennedy on the building’s exterior. But a federal judge in May ruled only Congress can rename the memorial, prompting Trump’s name to finally be taken down in June. A tarp has partially covered the name of the building ever since.

Now, the trustee board is set to take up two resolutions. A report to the board says the center should shut down its main building immediately and that keeping it open could “endanger lives.” The report also says the center will run out of money to make payroll and cover routine maintenance costs within weeks. But Trump has offered to “raise the necessary funds to keep the Center from bankruptcy,” but only if given appropriate recognition for saving the center.

Related: Trump name removal at Kennedy Center draws growing attention after last-minute court loss

Attorneys for ousted board members who oppose Trump’s efforts to tag the center lambasted the latest proposals.

“This constant effort to add Donald Trump’s name to the Kennedy Center facade is the definition of insanity,” attorneys Norm Eisen and Nathaniel Zelinsky said in a statement to the Post. “This is now the third attempt to deface this sacred memorial and turn it into a vanity project for one man’s ego. Worse still, now Trump is taking the Center hostage and threatening to in effect kill it unless he gets his way. This has to stop.”