Trump-Kennedy Center President Denies Artist Boycott Role in Two-Year Closure, Calls Reports ‘Fake News’

Richard Grenell, president of the Trump-Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, stated Wednesday that reports tying the venue’s planned two-year closure to artists refusing to perform under President Donald Trump are “fake news.”

He said the shutdown is solely about completing long-overdue renovations.

Appearing on “Finnerty,” Grenell dismissed claims that political boycotts played any role in the decision to temporarily close the iconic Washington, D.C., arts institution.

“Zero. None of that is true,” Grenell said when asked whether performers canceling shows influenced the move. “It’s, of course, fake news.”

Grenell said Trump personally pushed to address long-standing financial and structural problems at the center after visiting the facility.

“Donald Trump came to the then-Kennedy Center, and he saw that it was falling apart financially and physically, and he decided to fix it,” Grenell said.

He credited the president with securing congressional funding for the project, noting the bipartisan significance of the move.

“So he went to Congress. Congress has appropriated $257 million,” Grenell said. “A Republican asked for $257 million for an arts center.”

With funding in place, Grenell said leadership faced a choice between keeping the center partially open for years or completing the work in a shorter, less disruptive window.

“We were faced with whether or not to hang the sign that says pardon our dust for five years or hang the sign that says closed for renovations,” he said. “Because we had the money, it was an easy decision to say, ‘Let’s actually close it up.’”

Grenell said the center will shut down beginning July 4, with construction starting the following day.

“On July 5, it will become a construction site,” he said. “And in two years we hope to be finished.”

He predicted the project could be completed ahead of schedule.

“Donald Trump usually comes under budget and under time,” Grenell said. “So we’ll be done in two years, but I bet we’ll be done earlier than that.”

Grenell said the temporary closure will pay long-term dividends.

“I think we’re going to look back retroactively and say, What a great idea to close it for two years of downtime,” he said, adding the renovations will allow Americans to enjoy “this amazing arts institution” for many years afterward.