A close-up photo from Agence France-Presse showed President Donald Trump seemingly viewing demolition plans for Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center Wednesday.
Trump was seen sitting on Air Force One, looking at a poster with the words “Kennedy Center DEMOLISH” written in red across the top.
The full text of the board, however, was not visible.
AFP photojournalist Brendan Smialowski took the image at Joint Base Andrews Wednesday as Trump returned from campaigning in North Carolina.
This news came on the same day that CSPAN posted a video of Trump calling the Kennedy Center “a loser financially.”
“It’s a mess. It’s lost, the Kennedy Center for many years, has lost tens of millions of dollars,” he said. “Even hundreds of millions of dollars. It’s a loser, financially. And many of the places like that, like Carnegie Hall and the various places throughout the country, they lose a lot of money.
“For me to go and fix it, I’m the one capable of fixing it, and then have to subsidize it for years to come — because you will lose with the Kennedy Center,” Trump continued.
Will Trump demolish the Kennedy Center?
Yes: 75% (3 Votes)
No: 25% (1 Votes)
“They were losing hundreds of millions of dollars … This is before I got involved. So for the Trump administration, for me, to get involved, and to take that on long-term, and to carry it — or to raise money to carry it — I think that the Trump administration should certainly have recognition.”
The president added, “Because, frankly, if we don’t do that it’s going to close. It’ll end up being ripped down, it’s in very, very bad shape — very dangerous shape. You see steel falling down, you see plaster falling off ceilings. You see a lot of dangers. It’s been very badly maintained for 25 years.”
President Trump says the Kennedy Center is “a loser financially,” and that the Trump administration should receive recognition if they “raise money to carry it.” pic.twitter.com/ijDnloMgec
— CSPAN (@cspan) September 17, 2026
Smialowski, who has covered the White House for 20 years, noted that Trump was sitting in a different seat than he normally does.
“It’s an interesting photo,” he remarked. “The Kennedy Center’s in the news right now, and their future is in the news.”
The AFP image has been viewed millions of times on social media. It has triggered widespread speculation about Trump’s plans going forward.
The pictures were also used as evidence by Democratic Ohio congresswoman Joyce Beatty on Thursday, who is a Kennedy Center board member and who is challenging Trump’s attempts to reform the institution.
Upon assuming office in January 2025, the president installed a new board of directors, added his name to the building, and took over as chairman.
The board voted in December to rename the building to the “Trump-Kennedy” Center and began installing signage reflecting the change.
After a federal judge ordered that Trump’s name be removed, workers began taking it down in June.
The Kennedy Center board voted in August, however, to restore it.
Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York said Thursday that his party would “stop the president from another vanity project and waste of taxpayer resources.”
Democrats have been critical of Trump’s involvement with the center and often lump it in with his other projects, like the White House ballroom and reflecting pool renovation.
The commander in chief cited the Kennedy Center in a Truth Social post Tuesday, saying that it’s up to the courts whether any renovations will take place.
“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,” he wrote. “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,” he added.
“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,” Trump concluded.
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