Dem
47
GOP
53
And so it begins. Or ends, maybe.
The Trump administration, facing the business end of a court order, has been told to remove Donald Trump's name from the Kennedy Center. Team Trump's normal response, in nearly all circumstances, is to appeal, appeal, appeal. But in this case, they seem to be aware that the administration has no leg to stand on, and that continued resistance will just serve to heighten the embarrassment. And so yesterday, the Kennedy Center's general counsel sent out a memo giving detailed instructions for the removal of Trump's name from the venue.
The stuff that's easy to change has to be changed immediately. That means things like letterhead, e-mail signatures and outgoing voicemail messages. The stuff that's harder to change... well, the staff gets a whole extra week. Assuming that the terms of the memo are followed to the letter, then Trump's name will come off the front of the building and all other signage, the various Kennedy Center websites, and promotional brochures, by June 12.
Roma Daravi, vice president of public relations for the Kennedy Center, said that she and her staff are "evaluating all legal options to preserve this revitalization and recognize President Trump's leadership," but that sure seems like empty verbiage. Trump himself has said that if he can't do what he wants—name the center after himself, and then shut it down for 2 years so it's not obvious that nobody wants to appear there—then he will "transfer control to Congress." Which, let's be clear, is just status quo ante Trumpum. The venue has, for its entire life, been governed by laws and funding decisions made by Congress, with the Kennedy board, and the venue staff, handling the programming decisions and day-to-day operations.
Ultimately, this is a small thing. And yet, it's a good example of the system holding firm, and resisting some of Trump's weird fascist stuff. Hopefully, it is the first of many such examples. (Z)