President Donald Trump‘s decision to put his name on one of Washington’s most iconic landmarks has erupted into absolute chaos.
Nothing has gone according to plan since he rebranded the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to include his name.
Another attempt to bypass Congress has now pulled first lady Melania Trump into the growing controversy.
Trump’s 2025 rebrand included purging the original members of the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees to appoint a group of loyalists.
By December of that year, the new board voted to rename the building as The Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.
Legal fights over the renaming broke out. A federal judge eventually ruled the rebranding was illegal without congressional approval.
Trump’s name was taken down in early June. Soon after, white tarps covered the Kennedy Center’s façade, prompting speculation that some damage was being hidden.
A judge blocked Trump’s plan to close the Kennedy Center for two years. His board had approved the proposal after several high-profile performers withdrew.
But now his real plan for the Washington landmark has been exposed.
The Kennedy center shouldn’t still have tarps hanging that covers President Kennedys name. Disrespectful Mr. Trump loves construction. East wing shitfest in plain sight. That memorial shouldn’t be covered. pic.twitter.com/Fn8Zv59g1A
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(@payitfoward1) July 29, 2026
According to The Swamp, a newsletter of The Daily Beast, Trump hopes to abandon traditional Kennedy Center programming.
The president wants his wife’s former associate to help cater to the ultrawealthy instead of indie artists.
Melania’s former talent agent, Italian-American businessman Paolo Zampolli, 56, is the mastermind of the makeover.
His reported plan aims to turn the Kennedy Center into a destination for deep-pocketed visitors. It replaces Broadway-style programming with Valentino fashion shows, a luxury marina for smaller yachts, and upscale restaurants.
Zampolli also hopes to establish a “collaboration to send American arts into space” as part of the cultural center’s overhaul.
“I told the White House that I’m going to work with them to see what we can do together,” he told The Swamp.
In 2025, Zampolli said he wanted the Trump-era Kennedy Center to become “luxurious” and “prestigious.”
He also complained about the dining options at the premier cultural center, calling them “very bad” and “disgusting.”
Zampolli spearheading major changes to the Kennedy Center sparked negative reactions online.
Democratic Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine slammed the suggested modifications in a Facebook post Wednesday. She had high hopes the judge’s decision to remove his name would “end of his ridiculous obsession.”
“Turns out, Trump and his cronies are apparently working on a “secret blueprint to put his mark all over it,” Pingree, 71, wrote.
“Are you f—king kidding me?” she added. “I hope this isn’t true. But if it is, it’s yet another example of Trump trying to turn one of our country’s most treasured cultural institutions, and our only living memorial to JFK, into Mar-a-Lago North.”
Pingree also vowed to fight Trump’s “insane projects” until officials scrap the “absurd plans” and restore the Kennedy Center’s legacy.
Other Facebook users shared their thoughts on Trump apparently looking to completely revamp the center. One commenter wrote, “He’s like a dog trying to mark territory. So gross!”
The congresswoman earned praise when one person advised, “Keep fighting against his insane ideas. This clown will be gone soon.”
The legal battle over the Kennedy Center continues to play out as Zampolli pushes his opulent ideas for the site. His relationship with the Trumps likely gives him some level of cachet in Washington.
Before joining the Kennedy Center board in 2020, Zampolli reportedly was the man responsible for introducing Trump to his third wife.
Trump allegedly met the then-Melania Knavs in 1998 when she worked as a fashion model with Zampolli as her modeling agent.
The ID Model Management founder now serves as United States special representative for global partnerships in the second Trump administration.
The New York Times also reported that Zampolli contacted a senior ICE official after authorities arrested his ex, Amanda Ungaro, during their custody battle.
Zampolli was also mentioned in a New York Times report, allegeing he contacted a senior ICE official after his ex, Amanda Ungaro, was arrested during their custody battle.
BREAKING: I can confirm with 99% confidence that the reason Melania Trump came out yesterday with her Epstein Statement is because of information possessed by a former friend, and Epstein survivor, Brazilian Model Amanda Ungaro.
Ungaro was also the partner of Trump admin… pic.twitter.com/attVwWFLCB
— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) April 10, 2026
The former couple shares a teenage son. Yet a report claimed Zampolli wanted immigration authorities to detain his ex-wife because her visa had expired.
He admitted making the call. However, he denied trying to influence Ungaro’s detention.
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