Workers were deployed to remove Donald Trump’s name from the facade of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a public institution, following a judicial order that upheld existing state regulations against a powerful individual’s unilateral decree. Crews erected scaffolding on Friday 12 June, four days ago, and subsequently hung long plastic sheeting from the structure, obscuring the labor of removing the letters.
This action came after US District Court Judge Christopher Cooper ruled in May of the same year that the venue could not be renamed without congressional approval. Judge Cooper stated that Congress had made it “crystal clear” that the building is to be named after former president John F. Kennedy and that it “cannot bear any other formal name or public memorial” based on a “unilateral say-so” from a Trump-appointed board. He ordered the Trump name removed by Friday 12 June.
Donald Trump, in his capacity as the new chairman of the Kennedy Center, had previously decreed that his name should be added to the venue above that of John F. Kennedy’s. This attempt at personal appropriation of a collective resource was met with a last-minute effort by the Trump administration to pause the removal order, which was rejected by the judge.
The State's Role in Symbolic Capital
The state apparatus, through its judicial branch, intervened to enforce its own established legal frameworks, preventing a direct, unsanctioned alteration of a public institution’s identity. This intervention serves to manage contradictions within the existing system, ensuring that even powerful individuals adhere to specific procedural norms, rather than challenging the fundamental power structures that allow such individuals to hold positions of influence over public assets. The ruling, while correcting an overreach, does not question the broader system that enables a former president to attempt such a unilateral renaming or to hold a chairmanship over a significant cultural center.
Footage shared online of the scaffolding hiding the lettering removal went viral, drawing widespread public criticism. Many X users described Trump as a “loser,” with one asking, “Has there ever been a bigger snowflake in the history of the world than Donald Trump.” Another described the tarp cover-up as “fragile ego on full display.” This public discourse, while critical, largely focused on the personality and perceived character flaws of an individual, rather than the systemic issues of concentrated power and the potential for private appropriation of public resources.
Labor Deployed for Ruling Class Image Management
The physical labor of erecting scaffolding and hanging plastic sheeting was performed by workers, whose efforts were directed towards managing the public image of a powerful figure and the state’s enforcement of its own symbolic order. This deployment of labor power highlights how the working class is often tasked with executing the directives that arise from conflicts among the ruling class or the state’s efforts to maintain its legitimacy.
As of writing, the striped tarps continued to block the view of the now-Trumpless Kennedy Center, a visible testament to the labor expended in this symbolic battle. The report also noted that this incident occurred during a busy period for Donald Trump, which included the announcement of a framework deal to end the war with Iran, the World Cup in full swing in the US, the New York Knicks securing their first NBA victory in 53 years, and his 80th birthday celebrations the previous day with a controversial UFC cage fight on the White House lawn. These concurrent events underscore the continuous engagement of ruling-class figures in activities that serve capital accumulation and geopolitical interests, even as symbolic disputes play out in the public sphere.