When President Donald Trump began to overhaul the Kennedy Center last spring, comedy writer Toby Morton knew the changes would extend beyond the installment of Fox News hosts Laura Ingraham and Maria Bartiromo to its board. “As soon as Trump began gutting the Kennedy Center board earlier this year, I thought, ‘Yep, that name’s going on the building,’” the former South Park writer told The Washington Post.
Morton's prediction panned out on December 18, when Roma Daravi, the spokesperson for the cultural center, announced that “The Kennedy Center Board of Trustees voted unanimously today to name the institution The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.” According to Daravi, “The unanimous vote recognizes that [Trump] saved the institution from financial ruin and physical destruction.”
But if the Board wants a website address that reflects the new name, they might be out of luck. While the center has long been found online at kennedy-center.org, the URLs trumpkennedycenter.org and trumpkennedycenter.com belong to Morton, who purchases domain names then creates parody websites that lampoon their subjects.
At trumpkennedycenter.org, for example, one will find a site that suggests visitors “Ring in the New Year with a performance by The Epstein Dancers,” presumably a reference to Trump's history with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. An altered logo for the center appears below, blackened by redactions similar to those found in the recently released files from the Department of Justice investigation into Epstein's crimes.
“Welcome to TrumpKennedyCenter.org,” a note on the site reads. “A national cultural center dedicated to legacy, loyalty, and the careful presentation of history. Here, tradition is preserved, narratives are curated, and performances are elevated beyond mere art. What is remembered matters. What is omitted matters more. We invite you to experience culture as authority, pageantry as truth, and excellence as defined by those in power.”
It's unclear how long that URL will be useful, however. On Monday, Democratic Representative Joyce Beatty of Ohio filed a lawsuit to force the removal of Trump's name from the center, saying in her filing that the name change violates the Constitution. “Only Congress has the authority to rename the Kennedy Center. President Trump and his cronies must not be allowed to trample federal law and bypass Congress to feed his ego,” Beatty said in a statement. “This entire process has been a complete disgrace to this cherished institution and the people it serves. These unlawful actions must be blocked before any further damage is done.”
Morton announced Sunday via social media that he'd recieved support in his satirical effort from Kerry Kennedy, a niece of former president John F. Kennedy as well as the daughter of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy and sister of current Health and Human Services head, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“Can’t tell you how thrilled that [I] was when I read that you had purchased the Trump Kennedy Center domain name,” Kennedy told Morton. “There are many forms back to this system, and yours is unique and impactful. I just want to my gratitude.”
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“” years and one month from today, I’m going to grab a pickax and pull those letters off that building,” Kennedy wrote in a separate post to social media. “I’m going to need help holding the ladder. Are you in?”
According to Morton, no one from the center or the White House has reached out regarding the parody site, nor has anyone attempted to reclaim the domains. That said, the arts org appears to be planing legal action against another artist who’s protesting the venue's new moniker: According to the Associated Press, Kennedy Center president Richard Grenell sent a letter to Chuck Redd after the musician canceled a planned Christmas Eve concert at the center when he caught wind of the center’s new name. In the letter, Grenell said Redd’s decision not to play “is classic intolerance,” and threatened to ”seek $1 million in damages” for the cancellation.
