A reporter asked Trump why the Kennedy Center should bear his name, but he walked away without answering

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump took questions from the press on the airport tarmac in Charlotte, North Carolina. The stop came before an evening event backing Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley. One of the questions focused on whether the Kennedy Center should carry his name.

According to Mediaite, he responded to a single question on that subject. He told reporters, “The Kennedy Center, for many years, has lost tens of millions of dollars, even hundreds of millions of dollars… So for the Trump administration, for me, to get involved and to take that on long-term and to carry it, or to raise money to carry it, I think that the Trump administration should certainly have recognition.”

He also said the center will “close” for good without his financial help. A reporter then yelled, “Why does it have to have your name though, sir?” Trump did not reply. He walked to a black sedan, sat in the back seat, and left for Whatley’s event.

Board vote to close the center followed another court rejection of the name change

The Kennedy Center’s Trump-aligned board voted Tuesday to shut the facility. That vote came after a federal judge again turned down an effort to add the president’s name to the building.

The Kennedy Center’s Trump-aligned board voted Tuesday to shut down the facility, marking a major development in the ongoing dispute over the future of the Washington, D.C., performing arts institution. The decision came as the center faces continued controversy over changes made under President Donald Trump’s leadership

August reporting from The Washington Post said ticket sales had already dropped in the 10 months following Trump’s takeover. The center’s leadership has warned of fiscal collapse, as a report said they suggested renaming it may be the only fix.  

The same report said both “ticket sales and donations plunged after the Trump-led board of trustees voted in December to rename the center after him and put his name on the front of the building.”

On Tuesday, Kerry Kennedy appeared on CNN. She is the sister of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. She argued that the center’s troubles are emblematic of what happens when the president puts his name on something. The Charlotte tarmac exchange took place the day after the board’s shutdown vote and the latest court decision against adding the name.