There was no merry music coming from the Kennedy Center this year. The reason? The addition of President Donald Trump’s name to the organization.
The annual Christmas Eve jazz concert was canceled after the show’s host, musician Chuck Redd, heard that Trump’s name would be added to the facility, Politico reported.
The concert had been a holiday tradition for more than 20 years.
“When I saw the name change on the Kennedy Center website and then hours later on the building, I chose to cancel our concert,” Redd told The Associated Press. Redd, a drummer and vibraphone player has been presiding over holiday “Jazz Jams” at the Kennedy Center since 2006.
Last Friday, Trump’s name was added to the building, which now reads The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.
The White House announced the president’s handpicked board approved the decision.
However, scholars claim the move violates the law. Trump suggested for months he was open to changing the center’s name.
The Kennedy Center was named in memory of
President John Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963.
Congress passed a law in 1964 naming the center as a living memorial to him.
The Kennedy family did not like the change.
Kennedy’s niece, Kerry Kennedy, has vowed to remove Trump’s name from the building as soon as he leaves office.
Former House historian Ray Smock has said any changes would have to be approved by Congress.
The law prohibits the board of trustees from making the center into a memorial to anyone else. It also prohibits putting another person’s name on the building’s exterior.
Trump, a Republican, forced out the board leadership and made himself chairman.
He also become the first President to host this year’s Kennedy Center honors.
This is not the first time a performance was canceled since Trump returned to office. Issa Rae and Peter Wolf canceled performances and Lin-Manuel Miranda canceled a production of “Hamilton.”
