The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has removed Donald Trump’s name from its website, complying with a US district judge’s order last month. The move came just before a 12 June deadline set by the centre’s general counsel to erase all references to the former president.
According to a memo reported by the Washington Post, employees were told to immediately change email signatures and letterheads to reflect the centre’s original name. Other changes, including those to signage, brochures and website pages, were required by 12 June.
Despite the online removal, the venue’s front in Washington DC still bears the inscription: “The Donald J Trump and The John F Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts”.
Judge Christopher Cooper ruled that the centre cannot be renamed without an act of Congress. “The Kennedy Center’s organic statute makes crystal clear that the Center is to be named for President Kennedy, and it cannot bear any other formal name or public memorial based on the Board’s unilateral say-so,” he wrote.
The judge also temporarily blocked a planned $257m “revitalization project” approved by Trump’s handpicked board, which would have closed the venue for two years. Trump criticised the ruling on social media, stating he had “no interest in continuing what could only be a hopeless journey.”
