President Donald Trump has a habit of getting rid of things he believes no longer serve him.
It could be a statue, the entire East Wing at the White House, or historic trees that have no impact on his day-to-day.
But one New York artist has become the latest casualty in the ongoing dispute over the “living memorial” to the 35th president.
In 2025, Trump seized control of the Kennedy Center board, packed it with loyalists and then watched them vote to slap his name on the building.
As a result, the nation’s premier event space in Washington, D.C., has become the object of legal battles and political dissent.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled that only the U.S. Congress can change the Kennedy Center’s name.
That ruling has not stopped Trump from still trying to leave his mark at the site.
New reports say the Kennedy Center removed Joel Shapiro’s “Blue” without explanation or advance notice.
“We are deeply grateful to Joel Shapiro for the years ‘Blue’ has spent animating our campus and connecting visitors to his vision,” The Kennedy Center told The New York Times.
The statement continued, “We are honored to have been stewards of his vibrant work and a part of his enduring legacy.”
Crews deinstalled Blue on Wednesday, Sept. 2.
The Joel Shapiro and Ellen Phelan Foundation, dedicated to the late Shapiro, who died in June 2025, would determine the giant metal stick figure’s next location.
The Kennedy Center installed the sculpture in 2019 as part of its $250 million Reach expansion.
Trump had already made clear he wasn’t a fan of the project, making its removal now especially notable.
A Washington-based activist coalition known as Hands Off Art blasted the president for relocating Blue off the center’s complex.
“Hands Off the Arts condemns Trump’s continued vandalism of the nation’s artistic treasures by ordering the removal of Blue from the Kennedy Center’s REACH campus,” read a statement from HOA.
The organization continued, “Blue was installed as a site-specific work designed by late artist Joel Shapiro specifically as a joyful and welcoming feature for the public grounds of the expansion.”
Hands Off the Arts’ condemnation of the removal sent frustrated Instagram users into the comments.
“Waaaait. Whaaaaat? Why is ‘Blue’ gone?” asked one baffled person in HOA’s comment section.
“Who said he could?!? Why is this allowed? This is NOT his building,” wondered another individual.
The organization replied, “Because the administration couldn’t recognize good art if it slapped them in the face.”
A second person commented, “Public spaces, public wealth, deserve prudent stewardship and trust. Instead, we get an imperial attitude of ownership with slumlord instincts.”
People on X speculated on the motivation behind The Kennedy Center uprooting Blue. Some commenters suggested the Democratic Party’s association with the color played a role.
One person tweeted, “Probably to make it easier to knock the Kennedy Center down. But maybe just because it’s blue.”
Before his passing, Shapiro discussed his Blue installation at the Reach. A 2019 Kennedy Center video about the project featured an interview with the former Peace Corps member.
“It’s about action and risk and performance and energy. It’s a celebration of possibility,” Shapiro said. He later added, “I’m delighted to be part of this new complex.”
The removal of Blue stirred resentment directed at the Trump administration. This latest round of backlash follows over a year of controversy.
Trump lost his courtroom fight to rename the venue dedicated to JFK. The judge also blocked plans to close the Kennedy Center for two years.
The Kennedy Center board also passed a resolution that would place an inscription at the location that would read, “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump.”
Visitors could also see the Kennedy Center grounds labeled as “President Donald J. Trump Plaza,” if the MAGA frontman’s hand-picked lackeys’ plans go through.
In addition, the Justice Department lawyers have since threatened to demolish the center if the federal courts continue to halt the president’s renovation efforts.
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