Streisand Blasts Trump's 'Unchecked Ego' Over Kennedy Center
Streisand Blasts Trump's 'Unchecked Ego' Over Kennedy Center
The News
Barbra Streisand accused President Donald Trump of an "unchecked ego" on Thursday, blaming him for the fight engulfing the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
The singer, a 2008 Kennedy Center honoree, issued a lengthy statement after Trump asserted the center may be torn down, according to Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter.
The threat came amid an ongoing legal battle over mounting Trump's name on the building's exterior.
What She Said
"You can easily imagine my indignation at seeing this revered institution become the subject of such a bitter struggle over one man's name and unchecked ego," Streisand wrote.
Timeline
Streisand is named a Kennedy Center honoree, per Deadline.
A legal battle begins over mounting Trump's name on the Kennedy Center's exterior, and Trump asserts the building may be demolished, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline and Political Wire.
Streisand releases her statement condemning Trump's "unchecked ego." The Washington Times and Political Wire report it the same day.
Rolling Stone, The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline publish their accounts, spreading the story across five outlets from left to right.
Reactions
Streisand's own words carried the criticism: she said her "indignation" came from watching "this revered institution" reduced to "a bitter struggle over one man's name and unchecked ego."
Rolling Stone framed Trump as "humiliated," reporting that he closed the Kennedy Center after losing the feud over his name.
The Washington Times, reporting from the right, described the exchange as a dispute over the center rather than a settled verdict on Trump's motives.
The White House had not issued a response reported in these accounts.
What's Next
The legal fight over putting Trump's name on the Kennedy Center's exterior remains unresolved, and the center's status — including Trump's suggestion it could be torn down — is the immediate question.
Expect further statements from artists and honorees, who have been the loudest voices in the dispute so far.
More
The story is being carried across the spectrum — Rolling Stone on the left, The Hollywood Reporter and Political Wire center-left, Deadline center, and The Washington Times on the right — an unusual alignment for an entertainment-page fight, and a sign the Kennedy Center has become a political property.
Poll
Should Trump's name go on the Kennedy Center?
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