Kennedy Center Warns 'Death Spiral' as Revenue Craters

Lawyers for the Trump-controlled Kennedy Center board told a federal judge the complex faces "a financial and structural death spiral" — and could eventually have to be torn down — unless President Trump's name goes back on the building.

The filing landed late Monday before U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper. Hours later, on Tuesday, The Washington Post reported it had obtained internal documents showing ticket sales and fundraising collapsed after Trump's name was added to the center in December.

The Filing

The board, chaired by Trump and dominated by his allies, voted earlier this month to put his name back on the front facade three times over. Below the inscription "The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts" would read "Renovated and Restored by President Donald J. Trump." Once a $100 million endowment threshold is met, a further line would read "Endowed by the Trump Kennedy Center Fund." The board also renamed the site and grounds the "President Donald J. Trump Plaza."

The center's attorneys, led by Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate, wrote that "the Board recognizes that President Trump's efforts and prestige provide the sole hope for the Center's financial survival, and structural renewal."

They added: "without the prominent recognition of The Trump Administration, and President Trump's efforts, the donors will not contribute, and the Center will continue to be in a financial and structural death spiral."

Without those efforts, they warned, "the Center will deteriorate further into an unsafe, decrepit structure that will be required to be taken down," with a proposed replacement such as "a large outdoor amphitheater overlooking the Potomac River."

The filing credits Trump with securing $258 million in federal renovation funding through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed last year, and with marshaling "a new donor base" the lawyers say promises hundreds of millions of dollars.

The Numbers

According to the Post's account of the internal documents, the center budgeted $220 million in revenue for fiscal 2026; by late May its own projections reached only $124 million — on track to fall nearly $100 million short.

Earned revenue was on pace to miss budget by 70 percent and contributed revenue by 25 percent. Fifty-seven percent of tickets were sold or distributed in the center's three largest venues, down from 93 percent a year earlier. One internal report described pledges falling by "more than 100 percent" because of write-offs and donor withdrawals. Artists canceled performances after the name change.

Ticket sales had already dropped in the 10 months after Trump's takeover of the board; both sales and donations fell more sharply after the December renaming.