Kennedy Center Drops Trump Branding Ahead of Bill Maher’s Mark Twain Prize Ceremony
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has removed President Donald Trump’s name from its website and digital materials, complying with a federal judge’s ruling that the addition of Trump’s name to the iconic Washington institution was illegal. The change comes as the center prepares for the June 28 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor ceremony honoring comedian Bill Maher.
According to AP News, the center’s home page now identifies the venue simply as “The Kennedy Center” rather than “The Trump Kennedy Center,” a name the board had adopted in December 2025. The digital rebranding follows a memo from the center’s Office of General Counsel directing all staff to remove Trump’s name from email signatures, letterhead, and other official documents by June 12.
The Legal Battle
On May 29, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper issued a 94-page ruling that the Kennedy Center’s board acted illegally when they voted to add Trump’s name to the venue. The judge’s decision was rooted in the center’s founding statute, which explicitly designates the institution as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy.
“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,” Cooper wrote. “Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it.” The BBC reported that the order also blocked the administration’s plan to close the venue for two years starting July 4 for extensive renovations.
Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), a former Kennedy Center trustee who filed the original lawsuit, celebrated the ruling. “The Kennedy Center is an institution that belongs to the American people, not to Donald Trump,” Beatty said in a statement. “He has desecrated this sacred memorial for his own vanity.”
Trump’s Takeover and the Artist Backlash
The legal fight is the culmination of a broader campaign by the Trump administration to reshape federal cultural institutions. In February 2025, Trump replaced several trustees on the Kennedy Center’s board and appointed himself as a trustee before being voted in as chairman. By December 2025, the newly constituted board voted unanimously to add Trump’s name to the institution, with new lettering bearing “The Donald J. Trump” affixed to the center’s front portico.
The politicization of the Kennedy Center triggered a wave of artist cancellations. Performers including Issa Rae, Bela Fleck, Renee Fleming, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Philip Glass, the Martha Graham Dance Company, and the San Francisco Ballet all canceled scheduled appearances, according to NPR. The cancellations led to falling ticket sales, raising questions about whether appropriated funds were being diverted from maintenance to operations.
The Mark Twain Prize Ceremony
Amid the turmoil, the Kennedy Center announced in March that Bill Maher would be the 27th recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. The ceremony, scheduled for June 28, will feature guest speakers including John Mellencamp, Jay Leno, Whitney Cummings, Louis C.K., and ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith.
Maher, the HBO host known for his politically independent commentary, has publicly feuded with Trump over the years. Yet he is also a frequent critic of “woke” culture who has interviewed figures across the political spectrum. Kennedy Center spokesperson Roma Daravi said of Maher: “For nearly three decades, the Mark Twain Prize has celebrated some of the greatest minds in comedy. For even longer, Bill has been influencing American discourse — one politically incorrect joke at a time.”
Renovation Plans in Limbo
The legal ruling also threw a wrench into Trump’s ambitious renovation plans. Congress had appropriated $257 million for Kennedy Center renovations through Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” but Judge Cooper blocked the proposed two-year closure. Georgetown University law professor David Super told ABC News that the appropriation covers “capital repair, restoration, maintenance backlog, and security structures” — not a complete rebuild.
“The Constitution says that no money shall be drawn from the Treasury except in accordance with an appropriation passed by Congress,” Super explained. “He can spend that money for any of the purposes Congress provided it for, and that includes deferred maintenance, repair, restoration, renovation. It does not allow him to rebuild it.”
What’s Next
The Kennedy Center has indicated it may appeal the ruling, with spokesperson Daravi stating the center is “evaluating all legal options to preserve this revitalization and recognize President Trump’s leadership.” Trump responded angrily on Truth Social, writing that unless he is “free to do what I do better than anyone else,” he has “no interest in continuing what could only be a hopeless journey into ‘NEVER NEVER LAND.’”
As of June 8, Trump’s name was still physically affixed to the building’s facade, though digital branding has been removed. The June 28 Mark Twain Prize ceremony is now poised to become a significant cultural moment — a celebration of American humor at an institution still navigating the aftershocks of a political storm.