The Kennedy Center now includes Trump’s name. What if it paid tribute to Eisenhower instead?
A statue of former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, as seen on May 1, 2025, stands on the lawn of the Kansas Statehouse in Topeka. (Photo by Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)
On Dec. 18, the arts world was shocked by news that the board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts had voted to change the name of the world-famous institution to The Trump-Kennedy Center, effectively immediately.
The new title in full is the “Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”
As explained by the public relations office for the center, the unanimous vote by the board “recognizes that the current Chairman (President Trump) saved the institution from financial ruin and physical destruction.” The office continued by saying “The new Trump-Kennedy Center reflects the unequivocal bipartisan support for America’s culture center for generations to come.”
It remains to be seen whether renaming the Kennedy Center will require formal approval by Congress. In the meantime, new signage has been mounted on the building’s exterior.
This episode is of great interest to me as the author of “The Real Ike: Eisenhower Fact and Fiction.” In my book, I make a strong case for renaming this cultural center on the banks of the Potomac River as the Dwight D. Eisenhower Center for the Performing Arts. (See Chapter 16 — “Ike the Cultural Warrior: The Eisenhower Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC.”)
Let me explain.
Washington, D.C., had venues for theater and music when President Eisenhower took office in 1953, but no facility in D.C. compared with the best in other world capitals. Especially lacking were theaters designed for ballet and grand opera. Ike had growing concern that Washington’s inadequate cultural life did not promote the proper image for the great power that the United States had become. This issue was especially concerning at this point in the Cold War, when a positive image of the U.S. abroad was paramount.
In July 1955, Eisenhower signed Public Law 128 creating the “D.C. Auditorium Commission,” which included planning for the design, location, financing and construction in the District of Columbia of a civic auditorium including an Inaugural Hall of Presidents and a music, fine arts and mass communications center. This was the origin of the concept of a future national center for the performing arts.
Eisenhower had personally experienced patronizing comments from foreigners about his country’s lack of culture: “Many years ago when we were in Europe, it was not too rare at all to hear our country spoken of as another colony. When a European spoke of coming to America, he would say, ‘we are going out there next year to see you people,’ and it was in sort of a condescending tone.”
On September 2, 1958, Eisenhower signed the National Cultural Center Act — Public Law 85-874. His dream was now definitely on its way to becoming reality. Ike’s message to the nation was clear: “The cultural center belongs to the entire country. The challenge of its development offers to each of us a noble opportunity to add to the aesthetic and spiritual fabric of America.”
In February 1960, during his last year in office, Eisenhower called for a “President’s Commission on National Goals.” This nonofficial body’s purpose was to develop a broad outline of national objectives and programs for the next decade and even longer. The commission’s final report was issued in late November 1960, just a few weeks before Eisenhower left office.
This 32-page document could rightly be viewed as a philosophic think piece meant to accompany his now famous televised “Farewell Address” to the nation given Jan. 17, 1961, warning of the dangers of a “military-industrial complex.” The report included a strong statement about the critical importance of the arts and surely reflected Ike’s own personal views.
“The arts are a vital part of human experience,” the report read. “In the eyes of posterity, the success of the United States as a civilized society will be largely judged by the creative activities of its citizens in art, architecture, literature, music and the sciences.”
In March of 1969, Eisenhower was in Walter Reed Hospital dying of congestive heart failure. Just four days before he passed away – and against his doctors’ wishes – Ike took the time to dictate and signed a letter to composer Irving Berlin.
Berlin had written patriotic songs for World Wars I and II and many other popular songs such as “White Christmas,” “There’s No Business Like Show Business” and “God Bless America.” He had even composed Eisenhower’s “I Like Ike” election campaign song in 1952. The former president’s admiration and affection for Berlin was longstanding. The letter to Berlin was the last written by Ike.
.indent2Container { margin-left: 1em; border-left: solid 1px var(--brand_one); padding-left: 2em; }Dear Irving:
I have cajoled my doctors and nurses into letting me dictate this letter — it is a brief but very sincere note of thanks to you for the wonderful melodies you have created over the years.
A good part of my days here at Walter Reed are occupied with expert treatment by attentive doctors and nurses and some reading, but always with background music. I have wanted you to know what pleasure you have brought to me not only during my recovery but for so many years. No music has meant so much to me as yours.
I hope all is well with you and yours — please do not bother to respond.
With warm regard to you and Mrs. Berlin in which Mrs. Eisenhower joins.
Cordially,
DDE
The national cultural center in Washington, D.C., was begun by Eisenhower and then pursued by Presidents Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon before opening in 1971. We owe a debt of gratitude to all four of these presidents. But if not for the fateful events in Dallas in November 1963, future audiences might have been enjoying opera, concerts and theater in the grand “Eisenhower Center for the Performing Arts.”
A soldier, politician, writer, painter, music lover: Ike was a true Renaissance Man.
Perhaps upon learning of Ike’s historic role in the creation of the center, President Trump might be persuaded to give this national treasure the name it deserves: the Eisenhower Center for the Performing Arts. If not, I would be open to a compromise with new signage declaring it the Trump-Eisenhower Center for the Performing Arts.
Alas, dream on.
Martin Mack Teasley is the author of “The Real Ike: Eisenhower Fact and Fiction,” recently published by the University Press of Kansas. Through its opinion section, the Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.