WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday he is closing the Kennedy Centre for two years for a thorough renovation, as the storied Washington arts complex struggles with declining ticket sales and a backlash from performers.

The closure, he said, would begin on July 4 — the nation’s 250th anniversary.

Since returning to office, Trump has launched a forceful takeover of the once non-partisan center, branding some of its programming too “woke” and adding his own name to the facade.

“I have determined that the fastest way to bring The Trump Kennedy Centre to the highest level of Success, Beauty, and Grandeur, is to cease Entertainment Operations for an approximately two year period of time,” Trump, who is the centre’s chairman of the board, posted on his Truth Social platform.

The decision, he said, will be subject to approval of the board, which he handpicked upon taking over as chairman last year.

Trump said the facility’s various entertainment events — concerts, operas, musicals, ballet performances, and interactive arts — would impede and slow the construction and renovation operations, and that a full temporary closure would be necessary.

“The Trump Kennedy Centre, if temporarily closed for Construction, Revitalisation, and Complete Rebuilding, can be, without question, the finest Performing Arts Facility of its kind, anywhere in the World,” he said.

Published in Dawn, February 3rd, 2026