Trump says he’s not ‘ripping’ down Kennedy Center - much

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump said on Feb 2 that he would not demolish the Kennedy Center but hinted at major changes, a day after

announcing he is closing the famed Washington arts venue for two years

for renovations.

On Feb 1, he revealed that he was shuttering the complex temporarily – where several prominent artists have canceled shows after he branded the center too “woke” and then affixed his own name to the facade.

“I’m not ripping it down, I’ll be using the steel,” Mr Trump, a former construction magnate, told reporters in the Oval Office when asked if he planned to tear down the building.

“So we’re using the structure, we’re using some of the marble, and some of the marble comes down.

“But when it’s opened, it’ll be brand new and really beautiful.”

Mr Trump said the Kennedy Center renovations, which are due to start on July 4, would cost “probably around US$200 million (S$254.5 million)” but did not say where the funding would come from.

The Republican billionaire previously gave a similar cost for his construction of a new White House ballroom, which is paid for by private donors, although he has since said that project will now cost US$400 million.

Mr Trump has long declared that the Kennedy Center structure – built as a living memorial to slain US president John F. Kennedy and opened in 1971 – is dilapidated and in need of a facelift.

Since his return to power just over a year ago, Mr Trump has launched a forceful takeover of the once non-partisan centre, branding some of its performing arts programming as too “woke”.

The 79-year-old is chairman of a handpicked board that runs the complex in the US capital, and which voted in December to rename it the “Trump-Kennedy Center”.

A number of artists have in recent months called off appearances, including a production of the musical Hamilton, operatic soprano Renee Fleming and composer Philip Glass. AFP