Finances at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a premier performing arts venue in the U.S. capital of Washington, D.C., have deteriorated sharply since President Donald Trump attempted to attach his name to the venue, the Washington Post (WP) reported on the 25th (local time).

Despite claims by center leadership that finances have improved, WP reported that it reviewed obtained confidential documents revealing that ticket sales and fundraising figures have actually "collapsed."

In early February of last year, two weeks into his second term, President Trump expressed dissatisfaction with the center's operational direction and programming, announcing that he would replace the existing chief executive and board members and take over as chairman himself.

Ticket sales plummeted following the move, and both ticket sales and fundraising nosedived even more sharply after the board passed a motion in December of last year to change the center's name to the "Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts" (hereinafter the Trump-Kennedy Center).

A bizarre phenomenon also occurred where the decline rate for pledged donations exceeded 100% for the current fiscal year.

This was not only because the amount of newly pledged donations dropped sharply compared to the previous year, but also because existing donation pledges decreased under the category of "adjustments and write-offs" due to canceled donations and unpaid dues.

Established by federal law with government support, the center requires congressional resolution to change its name. However, the board at the time pushed ahead with the renaming solely through a board motion without going through such procedures.

Ex-officio board members not appointed by President Trump attempted to voice objections at the time but were stripped of their right to speak.

President Trump and the board members appointed by him are pushing ahead with plans to rename the center to the "Trump-Kennedy Center," place President Trump's name on the building's exterior signage, and close the center for two years to carry out USD 250 million (approx. 350 billion KRW) in renovations.

Previously, in May of last year, the center passed a constitutional amendment stating that ex-officio board members could not vote at board meetings, leaving voting rights exclusively to board members appointed by President Trump.

WP analyzed that while center leadership publicly portrayed President Trump's takeover as financially beneficial, they were actually aware that ticket sales and fundraising performances had plummeted.

According to the center's internal analysis reported by WP, following the renaming to the "Trump-Kennedy Center," ticket sales and fundraising nosedived, leaving revenues at just USD 124 million (approx. 171.8 billion KRW)—falling far short of the budgeted target of about USD 220 million (approx. 304.8 billion KRW).

Compared to the planned targets for this fiscal year, business revenue including ticket sales fell short by 70%, and donation revenue missed its target by 25%, leading to forecasts of a USD 23 million (approx. 31.9 billion KRW) deficit despite cost-cutting measures taken by the center.

An official familiar with the center's financial situation said, "The center took a massive hit when the takeover occurred." While things initially seemed to stabilize afterward, they described the situation after the renaming to the "Trump-Kennedy Center" by stating, "Donors vanished, ticket sales vanished, and artists vanished. It felt like doomsday."

The "Trump-Kennedy Center initiative" has been temporarily halted by a federal court injunction issued in May of this year, but President Trump's side maintains its stance to continue pushing forward.

In a court filing on the 24th, President Trump's legal team argued that without renovations, the building would continue to deteriorate to the point of requiring demolition, demanding that the "Trump-Kennedy Center initiative" be allowed to proceed.

Critics have argued that this amounts to a threat to demolish the center entirely if his initiative is not realized.

Previously, the center's board passed a resolution on the 13th of this month to change the center's sign to read "The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump" and to name the center's grounds "President Donald J. Trump Plaza."

This is interpreted as an attempt to bypass the injunction issued by the court in May of this year.

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