By Douglas V. Gibbs
When President Donald J. Trump decided to make the White House better with a ballroom, his opponents screamed bloody-murder, even though for the first time in history a renovation to the White House was not going to cost the taxpayers one red cent. It didn’t matter than every president has had work done in one way or another to the White House to fit their presidency. It didn’t matter that President Trump, for the first time in history, was going to give the White House a much needed renovation without spending a single tax dollar – instead using his own private money and donors’ dollars to fund the project. The truth didn’t matter. It appalled them because it was an idea that Trump had come up with.
Scott Baio once said, “Trump could cure cancer, and they’d accuse him of putting oncologists out of work.”
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Now, Trump Derangement Syndrome has moved to the Kennedy Center. Officially the “John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.” The center is considered the natural cultural center of the United States and to the Democrats it is a living memorial to President John F. Kenney. It opened in 1971, and serves as a performing arts venue for theater, ballet, modern dance, classical music, jazz, pop, and folk music. It serves as the home of the National Symphony Orchestra. The location hosts thousands of events and performances each year, including touring Broadway shows and orchestral concerts. It also features free daily performances at the Millennium Stage in the Grand Foyer. It is best known for the annual Kennedy Center Honors, which recognize artists for their lifetime contributions to American culture.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Cultural Center Act on September 2, 1958 (Public Law 85-874) so that a “National Cultural Center” may be built in the District of Columbia. The Act established the Center as an independently administered bureau of the Smithsonian Institution. Initial legislation mandated the funds for construction be raised by independent contributions, rather than federal appropriations. The intention, if followed, would truly make the center something that belonged to the people. However, the idea turned out to be an obstacle, and by the early 1960s, the project was still only a thought and in danger of being abandoned due to a lack of funding.
President John F. Kennedy resurrected the project, recognizing the Cold War implications of American cultural projection. He appointed new leadership to the fundraising effort, and called upon Congress to support the issue.
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When President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, the trajectory of the National Cultural Center was again in danger. Congress picked up the baton and decided the project needed to be finished as a living memorial to the late president. January 23, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the John F, Kennedy Center Act (Public Law 88-260), amending the previous act renaming the still uncompleted project the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, also designating the Center as a national monument, and allowing for federal matching of funds to supplement private fundraising.
President Johnson broke ground on December 2, 1964. Site excavation and foundation work began in 1965, and continued into 1966. After years of construction, the center made its public debut on September 8, 1971, with a gala premiere in the Opera House. The Concert Hall opened the following night, and the Eisenhower Theater opened on October 18, 1971.
Early on in the second term of his presidency, President Trump took interest in the Kennedy Center, promising to bring the 54-year-old performing arts complex out of disrepair. The board agreed, releasing documentation that described the Center as experiencing “decades of deferred maintenance and critical infrastructure needs.” President Trump and the board reported the Center required a $257 million renovation effort, and provided a detailed look at the condition of the venue to back up their claim. To make the renovations happen, the center would need to be closed as long as two years. Democrats voted against the closure, and protesters began to scream against the plan.
President Trump’s interest in the Center led to the board, who President Trump is head of, voting to add Donald Trump’s name to the center, and the protests became even louder.
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Officials have warned that if the repairs are not done, the building would reach an “end-of-life” moment, and would need to be completely demolished.
The Democrats claimed they didn’t vote against repairs, just the closure. Their attitude was for the center to be kept open as it is being worked on. Trump argued that closing the building is absolutely necessary to complete the work efficiently. “If we don’t close, the quality of construction will not be nearly as good,” Trump said.
In response, a lawsuit was filed against renovations, arguing that major changes could affect the historic integrity of the building.
Executive Director of the Board for the Center Matt Floca responded that nothing was changing. The JFK bust will stay where it is, the marble exterior will remain, “The memorial at large will stay the same.”
The protesters raged. The Democrats raged. They all called Trump a liar, and demanded the center not be closed, it wasn’t in as bad of shape as he was saying, and he was doing it all for his own narcissistic desire to have his name on the center and have his back patted.
Then, during a storm, a part of the ceiling fell – and if people had been in the building for an event, there would have been injuries, and perhaps deaths.
Did the anti-Trump mob finally say, “Okay, a guy who’s been in construction his entire life might know what he’s talking about?”
No. The protests intensified.
The sub-headline at Breitbart reads: “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.”
Are these people stupid, or something?
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ABC News reported that the protesters assembled outside the Kennedy Center calling for President Trump to be removed as chairman of the center’s board for “failing to protect and manage it.”
That’s all President Trump has been trying to do… protect and manage it. But, in return, he has gotten nothing but political attacks, lawsuits, and protests for trying to do what’s right.
They even formed their own group: The “Hands Off the Arts” organization.
During the most recent protest the leftist protesters gave musical performances, testimonials, speeches, and a concluded with a human chain around the building like a bunch of tree-hugging environmentalists.
What are they trying to save? The building is on the verge of needing to be condemned, Trump has plans to save it, and they are basically screaming “leave it alone and let it rot.”
Meanwhile, despite the protests, “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”
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A chunk of its ceiling fell, and Trump is basically saying that the board put his name on the center due to his work to save it, and so if his name is going to be there due to his efforts for the renovation then that’s the price of renovation. Keep the name of Trump on it, or let it rot and fall – after which a new one would likely be built without Kennedy’s name also on it.
The idiot protesters shouted, “Hands Off! Hands Off!”
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If Biden or Obama or any other president had ordered the closure and renovations, they would be celebrating it and saying, “It’s about time” and gladly add their Democratic president’s name to the signage. But because President Trump wishes to fix the malfunction and disrepair beneath the halls and stages, the anti-Trump crowd’s Trump Derangement Syndrome kicked into high gear, and gave us more proof that they don’t care about what’s right, what’s reasonable, what makes sense, or what ought to be done – if Trump is behind it, they are against it.
Breitbart 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.” At this point, only fools can actually believe that closing down the center and renovating it is a bad idea.
— Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
