WASHINGTON — President Trump said he was “disappointed” at the state of the Kennedy Center during his first tour on Monday since appointing himself board chairman of the Washington, DC, events center.
“Kennedy Center is in tremendous disrepair, as is a lot of the rest of our country, most of it because of bad management. This is a shame, what I’ve watched and witnessed,” Trump told reporters of the national cultural center.
“So I’m very disappointed when I look around. The bottom line is, it has tremendous potential.”
Trump took issue with some of the structural aspects of the building, including the appearance of the columns outside and rooms that were built “underground” and are a “waste of money.”
The Kennedy Center underwent a major $250 million reconstruction project in 2019 that expanded the 1971 building’s rooms.
The president said the venue is “a very big part of the fabric of Washington, DC,” and that he’s going to ask Congress to give money to “save the structure” of the building.
Trump also expressed frustration at those who work at the Kennedy Center and the massive price tag of certain events, saying Lee Greenwood wanted to sing a song for the board meeting on Monday — but that the center was going to cost him $30,000 to “move a piano” and get the stage ready.
The financial waste and bureaucracy, he said, are emblematic of the country.
“This represents a very important part of DC, and actually our country and I think it’s important to make sure that our country is in good shape and is represented well,” Trump went on.
“When people look at this, I’ve been hearing for a long time that they come here, and they’re very disappointed when they come here. We want them to be excited.”
The effort to renovate the Kennedy Center is a part of Trump’s larger agenda to “clean up” DC by cracking down on crime, removing homeless encampments and dismantling Black Lives Matter Plaza.
He said the musical “Les Misérables” is coming to the center and that, over time, the performances there will improve.
