Overview
- The board voted last week to add Donald Trump’s name to the institution, with the website updated within hours and a new exterior sign installed the next day.
- Jazz musician Chuck Redd canceled his long-running Christmas Jazz Jam after seeing the new branding, ending a holiday tradition he had led for nearly two decades.
- In a letter on official letterhead, president Richard Grenell rebuked Redd’s decision and said the center will seek $1 million in damages tied to the cancellation.
- Backlash from the Kennedy family, lawmakers, sponsors, and artists has intensified, with Issa Rae, Renée Fleming, Shonda Rhimes, Ben Folds, and producer Jeffrey Seller among those who resigned roles or pulled events.
- Legal experts point to a 1964 law limiting additional memorial designations at the site, a key issue in the lawmaker’s suit as the Trump-branded signage and reworked marketing remain in place alongside revenue declines.