By Annie Linskey, Jessica Toonkel, Josh Dawsey and Dave Michaels

WASHINGTON -- President Trump knows which slabs of white marble cladding to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts need to be replaced and what type of pipes run through the venue.

He has the cellphone number of the head of building maintenance -- and he calls regularly for updates on fixes at the venerated cultural institution, according to people familiar with the matter.

He has told allies he would like to see Live Nation Entertainment involved in the venue's operations, a person with direct knowledge of the conversations said. Kennedy Center officials are in discussions with the company about taking over ticketing.

Overhauling the Kennedy Center has become a fixation for Trump -- and no detail is too small for the real-estate-developer-turned-president.

Despite Trump's focus on the Kennedy Center, and in some cases because of it, the president faces major challenges as he seeks to remake the cultural center in his image. Ticket sales have fallen, and skeptical artists are canceling performances. And there is mounting consternation from Democrats -- and, privately, some Republicans -- that he will drastically alter the look and feel of the venue.

Trump thrust his presidential passion project back into the spotlight last week when he announced the center would close for two years for an expansive renovation. The move marked the latest construction project Trump is overseeing while he runs the country, including a new ballroom on the White House grounds, a massive stone arch near Arlington National Cemetery and the redesign of Washington's municipal golf courses.

All have attracted opposition. But at the Kennedy Center, that opposition has had an economic cost.

Ticket sales from one week this year showed a more than 70% drop from the same week in 2025, 2024 and 2023, according to data viewed by The Wall Street Journal. The National Symphony Orchestra's performance of Brahms X Radiohead, which is set for this week, is at slightly more than 20% capacity, people familiar with the sales said. For the entire run of "The Sound of Music," the Kennedy Center's Opera House was at less than 60% capacity on average, according to data viewed by the Journal.

"This year alone, we have seen enthusiasm for high-caliber programs with broad appeal," said Roma Daravi, the vice president of public relations at the center. She cited several examples including appearances by comedian Adam Carolla and performances by Japanese composer Joe Hisaishi in May that she said are nearly sold out.

Richard Grenell, the Trump-appointed president of the venue, said the Kennedy Center is on better financial footing now than it was a year ago because of an uptick in corporate sponsorship and better fiscal stewardship. Kennedy Center officials said they inherited a total operating deficit of $100 million.

He said most major arts institutions are facing declining audiences and fewer corporate sponsors and that acts he has greenlighted have done well, including comedian Jeff Foxworthy and National Symphony Orchestra performances of movie scores.

A sudden closure

Trump took control of the Kennedy Center just weeks after he began his second term, declaring the end of all what he considered "woke" programming, installing himself as the organization's chair and putting loyalists on the board of directors. A year later, the sudden announcement to close the center for renovations caught nearly everyone off guard.

In a December all-staff meeting, Grenell described coming renovations and said employees might have to switch offices or buildings, but didn't mention a potential shutdown of the entire venue, according to people who attended the meeting.

Some Kennedy Center board members had no advance notice that the center would be closed and were surprised by the move, according to people familiar with the matter. Many on the board learned of Trump's decision when a Kennedy Center employee emailed them the president's Truth Social post announcing the closure -- according to an email reviewed by the Journal.

"Isn't it wonderful to have a President who is so deeply involved in every issue, and every detail, that his Administration works on -- from massive trade deals to negotiating legislation with Congress and yes, even the reconstruction of the Kennedy Center," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

The two-year closure is expected to result in furloughs and layoffs of some of the Kennedy Center's 2,000 staff members as operations are reduced to a skeleton crew during the overhaul, a person familiar with the plans said.

The renovation project is estimated to cost nearly $300 million in taxpayer funds, according to an overview of the construction costs from last year reviewed by the Journal. That figure is larger than the $200 million estimate Trump laid out last week and doesn't include additional improvements, such as renovating VIP rooms, that private donors or companies are funding, according to Kennedy Center officials.

Even before plans were announced to close the Kennedy Center, a push to add Trump's name to the venue ruffled feathers. It was led by Sergio Gor, a longtime Trump aide who is on the board of trustees of the Kennedy Center and now serves as the U.S. ambassador to India. Gor broached the topic during a meeting held at the home of casino magnate Steve Wynn and his wife Andrea, a fellow board member, according to a person familiar with the events. Several board members afterward expressed frustration privately, but no one expressed reservations in the meeting, the person said. Gor didn't respond to a request for comment.

Ultimately, the board unanimously agreed in December to change the name to The Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. It installed the new name on the front of the building, even though some legal experts say only Congress has the authority to name it.

Kennedy Center officials said they can absorb the financial hit of closing for two years in part because of an influx in corporate donations.

Despite slashing its fundraising staff, the Kennedy Center raised $130 million from February 2025 to December 2025, including from big companies such as defense company RTX, the firm Booz Allen Hamilton and online retailer Amazon.com. That is up from $101 million in the same period during the prior year, according to a person familiar with the fundraising figures. The Kennedy Center Honors, an annual awards gala that Trump in 2025 became the first president to host, raised $23 million in 2025, up from $12.7 million the previous year.

This has helped make up for personal donations the center no longer receives. David Rubenstein, the former Center board chair personally donated $120 million to the center before Trump dismissed him.

Some of the corporate donors have business before the Trump administration or are seeking to strengthen their ties with the president, according to people involved in the efforts.

"Many great American companies and patriots have stepped forward to donate to the Trump-Kennedy Center," Leavitt said in a statement.

'Pardon our dust'

Kennedy Center leaders say they initially planned to keep the center open during the renovations. "We fully intended to hang a sign that said, 'Pardon our dust' and we're gonna figure this out," Grenell said in an interview with the Journal.

But Grenell said that option posed myriad complications such as whether awkward safety measures -- such as wearing hard hats -- would be needed for audience members, and how acoustics might be affected. Deconflicting show schedules and construction timelines became difficult.

Other changes are under discussion. Kennedy Center officials have explored moving its ticketing from a system called Tessitura, used by a number of the country's opera houses, to Live Nation's Ticketmaster, according to people familiar with the plans.

Grenell joined the Live Nation board of directors in May. The Justice Department has sued Live Nation over allegations that it illegally monopolized concert promotion and ticketing, while the Federal Trade Commission accused it of turning a blind eye to ticket brokers who harvest tickets and resell them at much higher prices.

Conversations about the planned switch started in January 2024, at the end of the Biden administration, according to Ticketmaster, and have continued since then. Grenell has recused himself from the discussions, according to Elliot Berke, the center's general counsel.

Any deal with the ticketing giant could be affected by the two-year closure. A spokeswoman for Ticketmaster said in a statement that "recent decision to renovate the venue creates uncertainty" about whether the deal will go forward.

Kennedy Center leaders envision a potential shift in focus for the cultural center. "There is going to have to be a big conversation about how -- going forward -- does the center get treated more like a venue than just a simple place for opera and shows," Grenell said in an interview, adding, "We're always going to keep the symphony. We love the symphony."

The Kennedy Center performance spaces have been rented out over the past year to organizations that match the president's priorities and in some cases personal interests. In December, the venue hosted a screening of "Melania," the eponymous documentary produced by the first lady, as well as the FIFA World Cup 26 Final Draw. The president attended both events.

The president has offered his team advice on the types of shows that should be featured at the Kennedy Center. Trump suggested bringing Broadway stalwarts such as "The Sound of Music" and "Chicago."

"What he said to us on programming," Grenell said, " is go back to the basics."

Write to Annie Linskey at annie.linskey@wsj.com, Jessica Toonkel at jessica.toonkel@wsj.com, Josh Dawsey at Joshua.Dawsey@WSJ.com and Dave Michaels at dave.michaels@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts hosted a screening of "Melania" in January. "Behind Trump's Push to Remake the Kennedy Center in His Own Image," at 20:00 p.m. ET on Feb. 10, incorrectly said it was in December.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 11, 2026 10:15 ET (15:15 GMT)

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