Protesters form human chain at Kennedy Centre after Trump threat

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People rally against the closing of the John F. Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts on September 18, 2026, in Washington. | Photo Credit: AP

Protesters formed a human chain on Friday (September 18, 2026) around the Kennedy Centre, the Washington arts hub that U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to demolish unless his name is restored to it.

The complex's main building has been shuttered since Wednesday (September 16, 2206) — temporarily, according to its leadership — while a judge is also reviewing plans for a long-term closure to accommodate Mr. Trump's desired renovations of the ageing facility.

Crowds waved placards reading "hands off Kennedy Centre" and broke out into song beneath the scaffolding and tarps that have remained in place since workers removed Mr. Trump's name from the building in June following a court order.

Mr. Trump took control last year of the Kennedy Centre — inaugurated in 1971 following the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy — and has pushed for a major renovation, claiming the building had been left in a state of disrepair by previous leaders.

Like other projects around the U.S. capital, the President has shown an unprecedented keenness to put his personal touch on plans, while testing the legal bounds of executive authority.

Mr. Trump's handpicked Kennedy Centre board voted last year to officially rename the institution as the Trump-Kennedy Centre, with corresponding updates to building signage and online logos.

The move — later reversed by a judge — led to a major decline in ticket sales, artist boycotts and an exodus of donors, according to The Washington Post .

"It makes me sick to my stomach," said Neal Racioppo, a Washington resident who runs marketing and communications for a theatre.

Mr. Trump "can't get his name on this cherished building, so he is depriving the world of what it could be”.

Mr. Racioppo, 57, joined a human chain that formed as night fell on the imposing, white, marble building, with crowds sprawling out onto the esplanade overlooking the Potomac River.

Demonstrators were zigzagged around the barriers installed after the centre closed this week, with some waving placards reading "hands off Kennedy Centre" and "Donny, you are no JFK".

"It has been an important home for the arts for this city and this country and the world," Mr. Racioppo said.