Hundreds of people descended on the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, Friday to protest President Donald Trump’s attempts to renovate and reconstruct it, even though it was recently shut down due to safety concerns.
The group assembled outside the venue to demand the president be removed as its chairman for “failing to protect and manage it,” ABC News reported Saturday.
“The Hands Off the Arts organization behind the rally and protest said they expect hundreds of people to gather on the center’s steps for musical performances, testimonials and speeches before forming a human chain around the building,” the outlet said. “The group has held various protests outside the performing arts venue this year.”
Video footage showed the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC, performing outside the venue as a drag queen looked on. Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) spoke at the gathering.
“I keep wondering how insecure, how narcissistic, how egomaniacal you have to be to say you’ll demolish a building if they don’t put your name on it,” he said:
In a Truth Social post on Tuesday, Trump wrote:
The Board of The Kennedy Center today agreed, almost unanimously, to close the Building for Safety reasons, and so that it can begin the process of Reconstruction. The closing will take place immediately, however, the Renovation and Reconstruction, which is a very large and complex job, cannot begin until such time as the D.C. Circuit rules on the Board’s approved name. If the ruling is a negative one, which it should not be, and is not overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Reconstruction and the Renovation of The Kennedy Center will not take place. The attorneys from the DOJ will ask for an expedited appeal. In the meantime, 17 Million Dollars, raised by President Trump, has been put into The Kennedy Center account to keep it afloat. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP
The center was closed after a chunk of its ceiling fell, the New York Times reported.
Trump warned about the state of the venue after the incident:
The Kennedy Center is in a virtual state of collapse, and has been for many years. A large piece of concrete and steel just dropped down, in a thud, from the ceiling of a heavily trafficked main hallway. If the Building were open, innocent people would have been killed.
More video footage showed protesters shouting “Hands off! Hands off!” outside the venue on Friday:
In April, Breitbart News reported about the malfunction and disrepair beneath the halls and stages of the Kennedy Center and the photos showing it.
The outlet reported in August that “A recent legal filing made by the Trump administration says the Kennedy Center is ‘structurally unsound, fundamentally unsafe, and embarrassing to the Nation’s Capital,’ arguing in favor of an ambitious renovation of the building.”