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E. Andrew Taylor, Associate Professor and Director of Arts Management, American University

Trump has gotten rid of many of the checks and balances that could stop him from demolishing the Kennedy Center

Musicians perform during a rally against the closing of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Sept. 18, 2026. AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana

Who gets to decide the future of the living memorial to former President John F. Kennedy, and who holds those decision-makers to account?

This debate is becoming ever more fraught. A photo taken on Sept. 16, 2026, showed President Donald J. Trump in Air Force One reviewing a poster with the words “Kennedy Center DEMOLISH …” that many interpreted to mean “demolished.”

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