Tax Returns Undercut Trump's Kennedy Center Money Claims
Tax Returns Undercut Trump's Kennedy Center Money Claims
The News
President Donald Trump's claim that the Kennedy Center was losing "hundreds of billions" of dollars before he "got involved" was contradicted Friday by the center's 2025 tax returns, obtained by the outlet Zeteo and reported by Raw Story.
The filings land days after Trump said the federally funded performing arts center could be "ripped down" if his administration does not get "recognition" — a reference to a judge's refusal to let him put his name on it.
A federal judge has since ordered the administration to give more than 30 days' notice before any demolition or major construction at the building.
The Numbers
Congress appropriated $257 million for the Kennedy Center's renovation. As of September 30, 2025, $330 million in federal appropriations were being held by the U.S. Treasury.
The 2025 tax returns show program revenue fell $16 million after Trump's takeover began. As recently as September 2024, the center reported a $41 million surplus on $307 million in revenue.
Timeline
The Kennedy Center reports a $41 million surplus on $307 million in revenue.
$330 million in federal appropriations for the center are being held by the U.S. Treasury, according to court-related filings cited in reporting on the dispute.
Trump says the Kennedy Center could be "ripped down" if the administration does not get "recognition" after a court blocked putting his name on it. A photo shows Trump aboard Air Force One reviewing a placard that appears to read "Kennedy Center DEMOLISHED."
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper orders the administration to give more than 30 days' notice before demolition or major construction, blocking an immediate teardown but leaving this week's closure of the building and the center's ultimate fate unresolved. The court authorizes discovery into Trump's statement and the Air Force One sign, and orders a sworn declaration from a Kennedy Center representative by next week.
Zeteo obtains the center's 2025 tax returns, which show the $16 million drop in program revenue and contradict Trump's "hundreds of billions" claim.
Reactions
Raw Story called the tax returns proof that Trump's loss claim was "a blatant lie."
CNN wrote that Trump's stated reason for "holding the Kennedy Center hostage" — the naming fight — "doesn't even make sense," noting he has twice in recent days indicated he would abandon the center, and even let it be torn down, if the courts do not change the ruling.
Mother Jones argued the center is "just Trump's latest hostage," part of a pattern of the administration closing off public spaces the president claimed to be saving.
MSNBC questioned whether violating a court order on the Kennedy Center would carry real consequences, noting no sitting president has ever been held in contempt of court and that many legal observers doubt one could be.
PolitiFact, responding to a reader asking whether Trump can legally tear down the Kennedy Center, the Lincoln Memorial or the Washington Monument, found there are legal hurdles.
Organizers are planning a protest in Washington after Trump's "ripped down" warning, according to PennLive and Cleveland.com.
What's Next
Judge Cooper has ordered a sworn declaration from a Kennedy Center representative by next week, and authorized discovery into Trump's Wednesday statement and the Air Force One placard.
Open questions: whether the administration honors the 30-day notice requirement, whether any contempt mechanism could actually stop a demolition, and what the full 2025 returns show about the center's finances before and after the naming fight.
The building's closure has ended its performing season, and there is no announced date for reopening.
More
The judge found that the administration's legal justification — that Trump's name was needed to sustain fundraising — did not hold up, noting the renaming coincided with revenue declines rather than gains.
Where the coverage splits: whether the building faces a genuine structural need, or is being closed and threatened with demolition to obscure the financial and political fallout from the takeover.
Poll
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