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TRUMP ADMINISTRATION THREATENS TO TEAR DOWN KENNEDY CENTER IF IT DOESN’T GET ITS WAY

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Kennedy Center after Trump-appointed board added his name.

The Trump administration now says that if the court doesn’t approve its renovations of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts it could complete tear down the building.

Add this to the long list of norms shattered and institutions threatened or degraded by the Trump Administration. The New York Times:

Lawyers for the Trump administration told a federal judge that the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts desperately needs the major renovation ordered by President Trump and raised the specter that it would need to be “taken down” if those plans are blocked.

In a court filing late on Monday, Justice Department lawyers defended plans for the $250 million renovation project and described how, as recognition for the president’s role, an inscription of his name on the arts center’s marble facade would be appropriate.

“Without those efforts, the center will deteriorate further into an unsafe, decrepit structure that will be required to be taken down,” the filing said, “with a determination to follow on what to build on the site, such as a large outdoor amphitheater overlooking the Potomac River that has been proposed, by some, for many years.”

In other words: rule our way or else.

Lawyers for the Trump administration told a federal judge that the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts desperately needs the major renovation ordered by President Trump and raised the specter that it would need to be “taken down” if those plans are blocked.

In a court filing late on Monday, Justice Department lawyers defended plans for the $250 million renovation project and described how, as recognition for the president’s role, an inscription of his name on the arts center’s marble facade would be appropriate.

“Without those efforts, the center will deteriorate further into an unsafe, decrepit structure that will be required to be taken down,” the filing said, “with a determination to follow on what to build on the site, such as a large outdoor amphitheater overlooking the Potomac River that has been proposed, by some, for many years.”

It was unclear how seriously any thought to knock down the building has been considered, but it was the most extreme measure that has been cited to support Mr. Trump’s contention that the Washington arts center needs a major overhaul that would force it to close for two years. Mr. Trump ordered the demolition of the White House’s East Wing last fall to make way for a luxury ballroom.

Such a decision at the Kennedy Center would be subject to legal challenges and objections from historical preservation groups.

The filing was part of the proceedings in a lawsuit by Representative Joyce Beatty, an ex officio board member at the center who has fought to block its plans to close and conspicuously honor Mr. Trump. In a statement on Tuesday, Nathaniel Zelinsky, a lawyer for Ms. Beatty, said the suggestion by Justice Department lawyers was a “not-so-subtle threat to demolish the Kennedy Center if the president doesn’t get his way.”