20-year Christmas Eve tradition canceled at Kennedy Center protesting Trump’s name on building

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A long-standing Christmas Eve jazz concert at Washington, D.C.'s Kennedy Center has been canceled, with its host citing the controversial addition of Donald Trump’s name to the iconic performing arts venue.

Musician Chuck Redd, who has led the holiday tradition for over two decades, called off the performance after the White House announced last week that the president’s name would be affixed to the building.

As of last Friday, the facility’s facade now reads "The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts."

The White House stated that a board handpicked by the president approved the decision, though scholars contend this violates existing law. Trump had reportedly been advocating for the name change for months.

Redd, a renowned drummer and vibraphone player who has toured with jazz greats like Dizzy Gillespie and Ray Brown, has hosted "Jazz Jams" at the Kennedy Center since 2006. He explained his decision in an email: "When I saw the name change on the Kennedy Center website and then hours later on the building, I chose to cancel our concert."

The Kennedy Center has not yet responded to requests for comment, though its website confirms the show’s cancellation.

The center was established as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy ( Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved )

The center was established as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy following his assassination in 1963, with Congress passing a law the subsequent year.

This legislation explicitly forbids the board of trustees from designating the centre as a memorial to anyone else, or from placing another individual’s name on its exterior.

Kennedy’s niece, Kerry Kennedy, has pledged to remove Trump’s name once he leaves office, while former House historian Ray Smock is among those asserting that any such changes require congressional approval.

Trump has become deeply involved with the center, a stark contrast to his initial term, where he largely ignored it.

He has replaced its leadership, restructured the board to head it himself, and personally hosted this year's Kennedy Center honours, breaking a long-held tradition. These changes are reportedly part of the president's broader campaign against "woke" culture within federal cultural institutions.

Numerous artists, including Issa Rae, Peter Wolf, and Lin-Manuel Miranda, who cancelled a planned production of "Hamilton," have also withdrawn from Kennedy Center performances since Donald Trump returned to office.