A federal court has shot down President Donald Trump’s argument that the Kennedy Center will lose money if his name isn’t reinstated to the performing arts center. A three judge panel with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit denied the request by Trump and his legal team to overturn a lower court’s ruling that his name be scrubbed from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, ruling that Trump’s team has “failed to show how they will be irreparably injured absent a stay.”
Trump’s Kennedy Center team had told the appeals court that removal of the current president’s name “‘threatens to impede’” fundraising and will “‘contribute to financial decline of the Center.’”
Court Ruling
The appeals court said that argument had no backing, writing in an order that the president’s team “offer only the conclusory assertions” by the Kennedy Center’s Trump backed executive director “in a factually unsupported declaration.” Judges cited the lower courts ruling that “‘there is no proof that current or future donations hinge on President Trump’s name being on the building.’”
Trump’s team also tried to persuade the court that the center would not be able to fundraise and would have to return money if the 47th president’s name isn’t returned to the center. The appeals court also waved off that contention, saying Trump’s team was just bringing up that assertion and hadn’t brought the argument to the lower court’s attention, “and they have given no explanation for failing to do so.” The appeals court wrote “such a post hoc argument cannot demonstrate an abuse of discretion by the district court.” Trump’s team “have not satisfied the stringent requirements for a stay pending appeal,” the court said.
Implications of the Ruling
The denial of Trump’s request to stop the name removal means that while the appeal to overturn the lower court’s removal decision is ongoing the current president’s name won’t go back on the building. Trump could still win the appeal down the road and have his name reinstated on the center.
The latest court ruling is another legal blow in Trump’s saga with the Kennedy Center. In late May, a D.C. circuit court ordered the Kennedy Center to remove all vestiges of Trump’s name, ruling that only Congress has authority to change the venue’s name. The judge also halted plans for a closure for renovations. In June, Trump’s name was torn from the Kennedy Center. That same month a Washington D.C. judge trashed a lawsuit brought by Trump’s team against drummer Chuck Redd finding that the musician didn’t have a contract and was within his rights to back out of a concert after the president’s coup at the center.
In conclusion, the Kennedy Center will not have to reinstate Trump’s name while the appeal is ongoing, and the president’s team will have to wait for the outcome of the appeal to determine the final decision on the matter. The Kennedy Center and Trump’s team will continue to navigate the legal process, and the outcome of the appeal will have significant implications for the performing arts center and its relationship with the president.
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