WASHINGTON, December 18. /TASS/. Washington's main theater and concert complex will be renamed the Donald Trump and John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, White House Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said on X.

According to her, the board of governors of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts decided "to rename the Kennedy Center to the Trump-Kennedy Center because of the unbelievable work President Trump has done over the last year in saving the building." In February, Trump said he had been elected chairman of the board of governors of this theater and concert complex.

The idea of creating a national cultural center in Washington began to be discussed in the US Congress in 1955. In 1958, the legislative initiative was approved and signed by the 34th American President Dwight D. Eisenhower. It was assumed that part of the funds for the construction would come as donations in the following years. The cost of the project was constantly increased.

The 35th President of the United States John F. Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline actively participated in the fundraising campaign for the construction of the center. After Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, it was decided to name the complex in his honor.

The Kennedy Center opened in 1971 and has since become the permanent home of the U.S. National Symphony Orchestra and the Washington National Opera.