President Donald Trump said on X on September 15 that the Kennedy Center is "in a virtual state of collapse" after a large piece of concrete and steel fell from the ceiling of a heavily trafficked main hallway. He warned that if the building had been open, "innocent people would have been killed."
Trump stated that a security guard had passed the area just one minute before the ceiling collapse, adding that the guard was "60 seconds away from certain death." He criticized a "very hostile and conflicted Judge" for keeping the building open despite no performances and no one willing to enter. Trump claimed the Board of the Kennedy Center has "strongly voted to save it" and that he is the only one who can raise the money and carry out construction, using "the strength and power of the Presidency."
Trump also noted that the Kennedy Center was losing "Hundreds of Millions of Dollars" when he took over and was "failing badly." He said time is "our Enemy," citing more than six months wasted in court, and revealed that the Board is meeting again today.
