The John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts is seen in Washington, Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo\/Cliff Owen)<\/small><\/p>\n
2026-05-30T18:28:45Z<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump<\/a><\/span> on Saturday branded the federal judge who blocked his renovation<\/a><\/span> of the Kennedy Center as \u201can anti Trump Hater\u201d and predicted that the nation\u2019s premier performing arts center he wanted to shutter for a two-year overhaul<\/a><\/span> will \u201csoon be closed, probably never to open again.\u201d<\/p>\n In a lengthy post on his Truth Social platform, Trump fumed about the Friday decision from U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper who also ordered Trump\u2019s name<\/a><\/span> removed from the center. Clearly angered by his latest legal setback, he said it was \u201cimpossible for me to be treated fairly,\u201d tying Cooper\u2019s ruling to earlier losses, including the Supreme Court\u2019s rejection in February of his sweeping tariffs<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n His post aimed to make the case for the project but did not clarify whether he would continue to defend it in court. Hours after Cooper\u2019s decision, Trump said he was backing away from the renovations and making arrangements to relinquish control to Congress of what, until the Republican president\u2019s second term, had been known as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.<\/p>\n The White House did not immediately clarify his position or say whether he would keep serving as the center\u2019s board chairman.<\/p>\n Without offering evidence, Trump suggested that Cooper\u2019s wife, lawyer Amy Jeffress, was to blame in part for the ruling. The president noted that Jeffress, a partner at the Hecker Fink law firm, is a former federal prosecutor who served as a counselor to Attorney General Eric Holder during the administration of Democratic President Barack Obama. Cooper was nominated for the bench by Obama.<\/p>\n