Donald Trump is now threatening to rip down the Kennedy Center if his name is not added to the building.

The President told the press, before boarding Air Force One, that “For me to go and fix it and subsidize it, I think the Trump Administration should have recognition. If we don’t do that, it’s going to close and get ripped down.”

The comments come as a picture of Trump looking at a placard that reads “Kennedy Center DEMOLITION” is circulating online.

This is the second time that Trump has threatened to demolish the Kennedy Center. Earlier in August, the Trump administration threatened to demolish the Center in a court filing that said “if the center isn’t allowed to follow its plans for renovation, including adding President Donald Trump’s name back to the building, the center will be taken down.” It added, “Without those efforts, the Center will deteriorate further into an unsafe, decrepit structure that will be required to be taken down, with a determination to follow on what to build on the site, such as a large outdoor amphitheater overlooking the Potomac River that has been proposed, by some, for many years.”

The new threats come after Judge Christopher Cooper of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled on Sept. 15 that the board of the Kennedy Center cannot put Trump’s name in other places on the building and its grounds.

Trump now hints at “ripping down” the Kennedy Center if he doesn’t get his name on it… blaming its poor financial performance — which literally only started when he took it over. (Like everything else he touches)

This is really the most Trump story ever.

(H/T @atrupar) pic.twitter.com/klLYIvCDdI

— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) September 17, 2026

lol — Trump was looking at a large Kennedy Center printout when Bribe Force One landed tonight in Maryland

(Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty) pic.twitter.com/3TRlgQjqbU

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 17, 2026