White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that the Kennedy Center’s board voted unanimously to rename the institution to the “Trump-Kennedy Center” in recognition of what she described as President Donald Trump’s efforts to save the building over the past year.
“Congratulations to President Donald J. Trump, and likewise, congratulations to President Kennedy, because this will be a truly great team long into the future! The building will no doubt attain new levels of success and grandeur,” said Levitt.
During a visit to the Kennedy Center in early December, Trump was asked whether he believed the performing arts center would eventually bear his name.
“I don’t know. I hear that, but I don’t know,” he said, adding that any such decision would be made by the center’s “very prestigious” board.