We All Know the Real Reason Trump Is Trying to Destroy the Kennedy Center

2 min readThe president's aesthetic crime spree in Washington continues apace. From The Washington Post:The towering sculpture of a sticklike human figure by Joel Shapiro, named “Blue,” was installed in the center’s grounds in September 2019 at the Reach expansion area overlooking the Potomac River. The figure, poised in mid-kick, was described by Shapiro at the time as a “celebration of possibility.” Shapiro, who gifted the work as a permanent installation, died last year. ... The Kennedy Center did not provide advance notice of, nor a reason for, the removal but said the work is being done at its request. The center said the Joel Shapiro and Ellen Phelan Foundation will determine where the sculpture is installed next. “We are deeply grateful to Joel Shapiro for the years Blue has spent animating our campus and connecting visitors to his vision,” the center said in an emailed statement Wednesday. “We are honored to have been stewards of his vibrant work and a part of his enduring legacy.”Apparently, this was done at the behest of Richard Grenell, the inexplicably influential White House official-without-portfolio. But there seems little question that it is part of the president's continued vandalism of the nation's capital. And the Kennedy Center seems to be ground zero at the moment, and it doesn't stop with the late Mr. Shapiro's sculpture.Josef Palermo, the center’s curator of visual arts and special programming from June 2025 to March, said Richard Grenell, then the center’s president, summoned him to his office almost a year ago and directed him to “get rid” of all the outdoor artwork on the campus. The order came because Trump wanted to have an entirely new collection when the center reopened after closing for two years of renovations, according to Palermo.Pink flamingoes. Large glass grapes. Another asphalt slab for those July cocktail parties, mayhaps. And it gets worse.The board has also voted to close the Kennedy Center’s main campus for two years while it undergoes more than $250 million in renovations. Plans presented last month call for structural work on three major theaters and upgrades to electrical and plumbing systems. They also include $20 million to refresh public spaces and temporarily relocate materials memorializing President John F. Kennedy—including a 3,000-pound bronze bust—to the Reach during construction."Temporarily relocate" his orange ass. He wants Kennedy's name expunged from the entire area because Natalie told him that he is the only president who ever mattered, or at least, the only person who ever was good at the job.