President Donald Trump on Monday ramped up plans for demolition and renovation of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, telling White House reporters that he would build the building’s existing structure “out of steel” and redo the rest.
“Some of the marble will fall off,” he added, “and it will be brand new and very beautiful.”
The president drew criticism Sunday when he announced plans to close the Performing Arts Center and the John F. Kennedy Memorial for two years and controversially rename it the Trump-Kennedy Center.
“This important decision, based on the input of many well-respected experts, will transform a tired, broken and dilapidated center that has been in poor financial and structural shape for years into a world-class bastion of arts, music and entertainment,” Trump wrote in a Truth Society post on Sunday.
On Monday, the president insisted that the center was “in very bad shape, it’s rundown, dilapidated, a little dangerous,” and said renovations would cost “about $200 million,” citing his experience as a real estate tycoon to back up the decision. (“I’ve done a lot of work in real estate and construction, and I’ve done it well.”)
Asked by reporters in the Oval Office whether the renovations would completely dismantle the Arts Center, Trump said, “When it opens, it will be brand new. Beautiful. I’m not going to tear it down. I’m going to use steel. So we’re using the structure. We’re using some marble, and some of the marble is going to come off. But when it opens, it’s going to be brand new, very beautiful.”
“So we’re going to close it around July 4th. Like, we’re going to close it on July 4th to do something great for America. And then we’re building, we have great contractors, we’re going to build it and we’re going to do it right,” he said. “We’re using the highest grade marble, everything is of the highest grade. It’s going to be brand new.”
See what he said below:
The family of the late President Kennedy was among the many who condemned the construction project Sunday, including Jack Schlossberg, Maria Shriver and Joe Kennedy III.
Schlossberg wrote on
Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, a former Kennedy Center board member, also spoke Sunday.
“Once again, Donald Trump’s actions have shown utter disregard for Congress,” she wrote in a statement. “The Kennedy Center is funded by Congress, and any decision to close its operations or undertake major renovations should be in consultation with Congress, especially over a two-year period.
“Countless employees, artists and others have existing contracts and agreements with the center. What happened to them? Did Trump or his handpicked board of directors consider their livelihoods or futures? This is exactly why congressional oversight is critical.”
Trump’s takeover of the Performing Arts Center led to a decline in the venue’s theater and live event box office performance, with a report last summer finding a 50% drop in sales. Artists and executives have also withdrawn and canceled events at the center.
“Let us be clear: Transforming the grounds will not restore the Kennedy Center to its original appearance,” Beatty concluded. “Artistic independence will return. American artists are rejecting this attempted takeover, and the government knows it. That’s why they’re scrambling for cover now.”
Trump says $200 million Kennedy Center renovation will retain steel structure, rest will be demolished: ‘It will be brand new’ | Video appeared first on TheWrap.
