Wonder Woman star Lynda Carter leads protests outside Kennedy Center amid fears Trump plans to demolish it

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Thousands gathered outside the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Friday evening to voice opposition to plans proposed by President Donald Trump for the facility, joining a wide network of organizations and individuals alarmed that he could follow through on threats to close and demolish the iconic institution.

Demonstrators flooded out from the nearest subway station, filling streets across Washington’s Foggy Bottom neighborhood and halting traffic as they lined up for an event titled “Hands Around the Kennedy Center.”

Many protesters brought signs, wore costumes, and booed whenever the president was mentioned during the program.

Chris Raleigh, co-founder of organizing group Hands Off the Arts, said in an interview that he hoped the gathering would demonstrate a public determination to hold back Trump’s plans for the facility.

Positioned along the Potomac River waterfront, the Kennedy Center has been a focal point of Trump’s efforts to reshape Washington since 2025, when he began filling its governing board with allies.

His name was added to the center late last year, though a judge subsequently deemed the action illegal and ordered its removal.

The president-aligned board voted Tuesday to shut the venue indefinitely for repairs, coming hours after U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper blocked their plans to restore Trump’s name to the building.

On Thursday, the judge ordered the Kennedy Center to provide 30 days’ notice before making any major physical changes to the building, including demolishing it.

Raleigh voiced concern that Trump might act without court notification. “Look at the East Wing,” he said. “We got up one morning and there was a giant hole there.”

Raleigh noted the Kennedy Center commands more public visibility than the East Wing did.

He added he does not believe the president fully understands why people are so upset, “but that’s our job right? This may be the line that no one expected but this is where the line is going to be.”

Protesters underscored the site’s role as the pinnacle of the nation’s performing arts community. Bud Wilkinson, a local arts community member, set up a chalkboard with Trump’s name written on it hundreds of times.

Attendees flocked to him to erase the names and replace them with hearts.

“The Kennedy Center is vital to the arts in Washington. We need it. We need this,” Wilkinson said.

“This is not just about putting the president’s name on the Kennedy Center. It’s about censoring the performances and the programming. That’s what started all this. So that’s what the nitty-gritty really is about this. So I want to replace all of this with love. That’s why there’s a heart.”

Alina Baciu detailed the relationships and opportunities offered to students at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, expressing worry over how those connections might be impacted. She explained her daughter frequently took advantage of all the center had to offer as a student at Duke Ellington.

“I mean, they borrowed the beautiful costumes and the beautiful dresses from the Washington National Opera for their performances at Duke Ellington,” she said, noting students also performed on the center’s Millennium Stage.

“All of those things have gone away because of this craziness. And it just hurts my heart,” Baciu said.

Laura Steinberg, a volunteer for the last 10 years, described the loss of performances as heart-wrenching. “This reminds me of that picture from Tiananmen Square, where that young man stood in front of the tank,” she said of the throngs present. “This was my visceral response to this. I’ll stand in front of the wrecking ball if it’s going to come to that. My guess is many of these people would come down because we saw what he did to the East Wing. Nobody thought he would actually do it. So I think the shock has mobilized people.”

Friday’s demonstration followed a tumultuous week in federal courts in Washington, where filings flooded the courts as the administration continues pushing for the president’s vanity projects. Concrete steps have begun on several projects despite ongoing litigation, including Trump’s triumphal arch and takeovers of East Potomac Golf Links and the U.S. Institute of Peace.

Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump expressed willingness to save the center, which he said was losing money, though he did not address a question about demolishing it.

“We have a lot of people working very hard on it to save it,” he said. “I can save it easily, but why should we be doing that and then raise money for the rest of our lives to keep it afloat? Because that’s what you have to do, if we get no recognition. I think the Trump administration should be recognized as having saved the Kennedy Center.”