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TAX RETURNS PROVE TRUMP IS LYING ABOUT KENNEDY CENTER

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Tax returns prove Donald Trump has been lying about the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts losing lots of money before he took it over, fired the board and appointed a new one. Trump has constantly repeated this assertion repeatedly in his relentless effort to have his name put on the building.

Raw Story:

President Donald Trump’s claim that the Kennedy Center he’s now threatening to demolish was losing “hundreds of billions” of dollars before he “got involved” was exposed Friday as a blatant lie after Zeteo obtained a copy of the center’s 2025 tax returns.

Trump’s takeover of the Kennedy Center hit a snag in June after a federal judge ordered the president’s name be removed from the iconic building. Trump’s name has since been removed from the center’s facade, though Trump and his aides have renewed efforts to return the president’s name to the building’s signage.

Trump’s oft-repeated rationale for his takeover of the Kennedy Center has been the institution’s supposed financial struggles, which he’s described as dire. The center’s newly released 2025 tax returns, however, reveal that Trump “is both lying about previous losses and hiding his own deliberate financial assault,” Zeteo reported Friday.

“Program revenue declined by $16 million and pledges and grants declined by $30 million in the seven or so months after Trump began his Kennedy Center takeover. That was before he added his name to the building, a move that reportedly caused ticket sales and donations to plunge much further,” Zeteo’s report reads.

“Interestingly, the tax return says that as of Sept. 30, 2025, roughly $330 million in federal appropriations — $310 million allotted for capital repair and restoration, and $20 million for operations and management — were being ‘held by [the] U.S. Treasury.’”

JFK’s family has been lambasting Trump amid reports that Trump may be planning to tear the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts down if the courts don’t let him put his name on it.

Protesters plan to form a human chain around the Center Friday night:

Several hundred activists are expected to gather at the Kennedy Center on Friday in opposition to President Donald Trump’s attempted takeover of the presidential memorial and threats that he will close and demolish it.

Activists are expected to gather Friday evening to link hands and form a human chain outside the Washington venue, demanding Trump be removed as its chairman for failing to protect and manage it. Trump installed himself as chairman of the Kennedy Center last year after removing its previous leadership and replacing board members with his own appointees.

“The demonstration opposes the recent sudden closure of the facility, the installation of security fencing, and political efforts to alter or demolish portions of the presidential memorial,” the group said on its website.

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 group has held various protests outside the performing arts venue this year.

Trump says Kennedy Center could be ‘ripped down’ if he doesn’t get ‘recognition’
Earlier this week, Trump said the Kennedy Center could be “ripped down” if his administration doesn’t receive recognition on the performing arts center as tensions over his name being removed from the venue mount.

“I think that the Trump administration should certainly have recognition. Because frankly, if we don’t do that, it’s going to close. It’ll end up being ripped down,” the president told reporters.