‘The Truth Is Under There’: Trump Accused of Hiding More Than His Name as Kennedy Center Tarps Stay Up Weeks After Judge’s Removal Order
It’s been nearly four weeks since a federal judge ruled that President Donald Trump‘s name had to come off the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
However, the public still hasn’t seen proof it happened, fueling claims of another Washington cover-up.
The building remains wrapped in white tarps, leaving no way for anyone outside the barricade to confirm what the marble wall actually says.
Rep. Joyce Beatty, the Ohio Democrat who sued to force the removal, initially shared a sneak peek video of Trump’s name being removed.
Viewers could see men taking down two letters, but that’s it.
She now wants a judge to ensure that all the letters have been removed, restoring the center without the current president’s name.
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In a June 19 filing, according to Newsweek, Beatty’s legal team accused Kennedy Center leadership of stalling. She called the tarps effectively “semi-permanent.” She also argued that they exist to obscure whether the center actually complied with the court’s order.
The filing alleged the delay reflects “broken egos” among leadership and could amount to a breach of fiduciary duty.
The fight traces back to May 29, when U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper ruled that adding Trump’s name to the building had violated federal law.
“The Court has concluded that the Board overstepped its statutory bounds by unilaterally renaming the Kennedy Center after President Trump,” Cooper wrote, adding that only Congress holds the power to change it.
He ordered every trace of Trump’s name removed from the building, website, and all branding within 14 days, and blocked a separate plan to shut the venue down for two years.
Crews moved in before dawn on June 12, working behind scaffolding and freshly hung tarps.
Kennedy Center operations chief Matt Floca later filed a sworn declaration confirming Trump’s name had been removed, the New York Times reports.
Photographers caught glimpses through gaps in the covering, capturing the letters “A” and “D” coming down. Then the gaps closed. The tarps have stayed up since, and the center won’t say when they’re coming down.
Spokesperson Roma Daravi offered only this: “The scaffolding and tarp will remain up as crews address maintenance needs of the marble and soffit panels.” No timeline followed.
Beatty isn’t buying the maintenance explanation.
“Donald Trump is embarrassed,” she said in a statement. “He lost in court, his name came down, and now he is trying to hide the result from the public.”
She’s not alone. Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland called the situation “a literal cover-up.”
Rep. Mike Levin of California called it “petty” and “absurd” while praising the removal of his name as a win.
Not everyone sees a scandal. One theatergoer dismissed the whole thing as “a lot of hoopla over nothing.”
But the skepticism has spread well past Capitol Hill.
The New York Times’ Facebook page lit up with theories once the story broke.
“Seems like a judge could order the tarps be removed. This is like a game of ‘I’m not touching you’ at the stupidest scale ever,” one commenter wrote.
Another asked the obvious follow-up: “Could it possibly be that the letters never came down? The judge needs to ask for an inspection to insure they complied with her order!”
Many commentators wondered whether the tarps were being used to hide damage to the marble wall or for something else.
“Bet you they either didn’t remove the letters or they are repairing the walls from the damage. Either way, classic Trump f up,” said one person.
Another noted, “There were some photos of the letters being taken down. The tarps are probably covering all the damage from where they were installed.”
A fifth person suspected they “removed the wrong name. It’s a cover up.”
The tarp standoff caps a saga stretching back to early 2025, when Trump took control of the Kennedy Center’s board and installed loyalists, eventually naming himself chairman.
The board voted in December to add his name to the building. Ticket sales sank. Performers and donors walked. By February, Trump announced plans to shut the venue entirely for a two-year, $257 million overhaul.
The board approved it. Beatty, one of the few Democrats with a board seat, took her objections to court — and won on both fronts. Cooper’s ruling didn’t just order Trump’s name down; it kept the doors open, blocking the shutdown outright.
Now the case has shifted from naming rights to proof. Beatty’s filing asks the court to make the Kennedy Center swear, under oath, why the tarps remain and when they’ll come down.
Until then, the marble stays hidden. So does the answer everyone’s asking for.