Several hundred activists plan to gather at the Kennedy Center on Friday evening to protest President Donald Trump’s leadership of the presidential memorial, amid escalating tensions over the venue’s future and threats of its potential demolition.
The demonstration, organized by the group Hands Off the Arts, will feature protestors linking hands to form a human chain around the Washington performing arts center. Participants are demanding Trump’s removal as chairman of the Kennedy Center, citing concerns over his management of the facility and proposed alterations to the memorial dedicated to President John F. Kennedy.
The protest comes in response to recent developments at the center, including its sudden closure, the installation of security fencing, and what organizers describe as political efforts to fundamentally alter the character of the memorial. Trump assumed the chairmanship of the Kennedy Center last year after removing existing leadership and replacing board members with his own appointees.
The evening’s events are scheduled to include musical performances, testimonials, and speeches on the center’s steps before protestors encircle the building. This marks one of several demonstrations the group has organized at the venue throughout the year.
Mallory Miller, co-founder of Hands Off the Arts, spoke forcefully against Trump’s leadership, particularly criticizing efforts to add the president’s name to the building’s exterior. “The Kennedy Center cannot be renamed for anyone else. It is a memorial to John F. Kennedy,” Miller stated. “It is not just silly to suggest otherwise. It is insulting, degrading, and un-American.”
Miller, who previously served as assistant manager of dance programming at the Kennedy Center, lost her position in 2025 during mass layoffs as the administration restructured the institution. She emphasized the center’s significance to the artistic community and the nation. “This is a building that belongs to the American people, not one person,” Miller said. “It is our Kennedy Center.”
The activist coalition maintains that its mission is to reclaim the Kennedy Center from what it characterizes as authoritarian overreach and to protect other arts and cultural institutions from similar government intervention.
Earlier this week, President Trump suggested the Kennedy Center could be demolished if his administration does not receive recognition at the venue. “I think that the Trump administration should certainly have recognition. Because frankly, if we do not do that, it is going to close. It will end up being ripped down,” the president told reporters.
The situation reached a new phase on Thursday when a federal judge ordered the Kennedy Center to provide thirty days’ notice before implementing any major physical changes to the building, including demolition as Trump has threatened.
The legal intervention provides temporary protection for the memorial while the broader dispute over its leadership and future continues. The case has drawn national attention as it raises fundamental questions about presidential authority over federally funded cultural institutions and the preservation of memorials dedicated to former presidents.
And that is the way it is.
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