WASHINGTON, June 14 — Workers removed President Donald Trump’s name from the facade of the prestigious Kennedy Center in Washington on Saturday – a stinging defeat for the US leader who has eschewed political tradition to affix his name and likeness across public spaces.

The restoration of the performing arts venue’s original name was the culmination of extended legal tussling, with an anti-Trump crowd keeping watch Friday until late night thunderstorms forced construction workers to down tools.

In a legal filing Saturday, the centre’s executive director Matt Floca said it had “removed all physical signage on the Kennedy Center building and grounds” containing Trump’s name.

Since returning to the White House in January 2025, former reality TV star Trump has aggressively imprinted himself onto the American political establishment.

Trump named himself chairman of the arts centre and stacked the governing board with loyalists.

The board then voted in December to rename the venue as “The Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”

The Republican president’s name was quickly added to the facade in large letters above that of Kennedy, spurring the cancellation of shows and plunging ticket sales for the remaining events.

Elsewhere in Washington, the now-defunct US Institute of Peace was renamed after Trump, and his face stares down from huge banners outside the Department of Justice and Department of Agriculture.

On Sunday, Trump will celebrate his 80th birthday with a US$60 million (RM240) cage fight at the White House – kicking off celebrations for the 250th anniversary of independence from Britain, an occasion his administration is also seeking to mark with a commemorative US$250 Trump bill.

‘A big win’

As of Saturday afternoon, a white tarp that had been hung as part of the work to remove Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center was still covering the building’s facade.

Loud noise had echoed from beneath the cover earlier Saturday, as morning joggers paused to take in the scene at the riverfront venue.

Washington resident Elise Serbaroli, 42, described the Kennedy Center as “one of my favourite places” and called the removal of Trump’s name “a big win.”

“I was heartbroken when I saw everything that was going on, with his name getting put up there,” said Serbaroli, one of dozens of people who came to watch the removal.

Dawn Martin, 65, agreed.

“Some people may think this is a menial...sort of sign. But the truth is, we cannot take away the honour that the Congress bestowed on this beautiful building for John F. Kennedy, a president who deserves this honour and whose name should be protected,” Martin said.

Beyond the crowd that gathered late Friday, cheering occasionally as workers erected scaffolding, tens of thousands of people monitored from afar via livestream.

Weather delay

US District Judge Christopher Cooper, in a ruling last month, ordered Trump’s name taken off the iconic building in Washington by the end of Friday.

Cooper said the arts complex – normally home to orchestra, theater and dance performances – had been illegally renamed after Trump and that only Congress has the right to change its name.

A furious Trump reacted by saying he was giving up control of the venue.

Cooper denied an appeal from the Kennedy Center on Friday that said the centre would suffer “irreparable harm” if Trump’s name was removed.

As construction workers built scaffolding to reach Trump’s name on the side of the building, a higher court denied an appeal of Cooper’s ruling – allowing the name removal to go ahead.

Overnight, the Kennedy Center asked for a 12-hour extension of the deadline, with Floca saying work was delayed by “thunderstorms which presented safety concerns to workers.”

Cooper has also issued a temporary block on Trump’s demand to close the Kennedy Center for two years of renovations, which was due to start in July.

The Kennedy Center dropped Trump’s name from its website earlier this week. — AFP