Trump says his administration “should certainly have recognition” because “if we don’t do that, it’s going to close”
Donald TrumpPresident of the United States, speaking to reporters on arrival in Charlotte, North Carolina
President Trump's exchange with reporters about the Kennedy Center on arrival in Charlotte, N.C., Sept. 16, 2026.
Excerpt from 4:38 to 6:14 of the White House video. DI added its logo in the corner.
Video: The White House. Public domain (U.S. government work) (opens in a new tab)
Watch the full original video (opens in a new tab) (relevant passage: Reporter's question about 4:40-4:48; Trump's answer 4:49-5:46; quoted passage about 5:26-5:46 (audio transcribed by us))
Asked by a reporter on arrival in Charlotte, North Carolina, why it was so important to him to have his name on the Kennedy Center, Trump said the center has lost money for years and that, for the administration to get involved and carry it long term, “the Trump administration should certainly have recognition.” He continued: “Because, frankly, if we don’t do that, it’s going to close. It’ll end up being ripped down.”
“So for the Trump administration, for me, to get involved and to take that on long term and to carry it, or to raise money to carry it, I think that the Trump administration should certainly have recognition. Because, frankly, if we don't do that, it's going to close. It'll end up being ripped down.”
Original video
Original text
Archived source
Reporting
Other statements by Donald Trump in this case
- Trump says Kennedy Center building closes now and renovation “will not take place” if a negative ruling standsEarlier: Defended or excused
- Trump seeks recognition for Kennedy Center renovationLater: Defended or excused
- Trump tells TIME "I'm not committing to anything" on the Kennedy Center, says his administration "should be recognized"Later: Defended or excused
Where this statement fits
Should Donald Trump link the Kennedy Center's renovation to recognition for his administration?
On September 15, 2026, a federal judge barred the Kennedy Center board, chaired by Donald Trump, from inscribing "renovated and restored by Donald J. Trump" on its main building or renaming the grounds for him. The board then voted to close the main building, and Trump posted that renovation "cannot begin until such time as the D.C. Circuit rules on the Board's approved name" and "will not take place" if that ruling is negative and not overturned. In Charlotte on September 16 he said the administration "should certainly have recognition. Because frankly, if we don't do that, it's going to close. It'll end up being ripped down." The White House says the center will "inevitably continue to decline" without his intervention; Rep. Joyce Beatty's lawyers wrote that Trump said "if he is not recognized on the building, it will close and be ripped down." The dispute is over whether the renovation should depend on recognition for Trump's administration and what his remarks mean.
Source and context
Original video
About this source
The White House's own recording of the press gaggle on arrival in Charlotte; the whitehouse.gov page (https://www.whitehouse.gov/videos/president-trump-gaggles-with-press-upon-arrival-at-charlotte-nc-sep-16-2026/, published 2026-09-16T23:21:21Z) embeds this upload. The quoted wording is our transcription of the audio and matches the Roll Call transcript. No official White House transcript exists.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Watch the clip from this source at the top of the page.
Original text
About this source
Court filing of 2026-09-17 by plaintiff's counsel, hosted on the CourtListener docket. It dates the remark to the evening of September 16. Its published transcript differs from the audio in three small places ('take on long term' without 'that'; 'close, it will end up being ripped down'); the audio and the Roll Call transcript control.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Archived source
About this source
Independent third-party transcript of the same gaggle, used as a cross-check on our audio transcription. The words match; punctuation differs slightly (it ends the earlier sentence after 'carry it or to raise money to carry it.'). It is not an official White House transcript, and its 'Generated by AI' summary block is a placeholder that was not relied on.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Reporting
About this source
Read the version updated 5:20 PM ET on 2026-09-15 (first published 1:49 PM ET; the version read includes Trump's post). Used only for the sequence on September 15 (ruling, board vote, post) and for Trump serving as the center's chair. NPR's own characterization of the post is not adopted.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
On September 15, after a federal judge blocked the Kennedy Center board's plan to add a recognition of Trump to the building and name its grounds for him, the board, which Trump chairs, voted to close the center. Trump posted on Truth Social that day that the renovation “will not take place” if a negative ruling on the board’s approved name is not overturned. In this gaggle a reporter asked why it was so important to him to have his name on the Kennedy Center.
After the quotation
Moments later in the same gaggle, in reply to another question, Trump said he would like to be able to save it but that it would take a lot of subsidy in the future, and that the Trump administration “should be recognized.” The next day plaintiff's counsel in Beatty v. Trump filed the remark with the court as supplemental authority (ECF 85).
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Asked why he wants his name on the building, Trump argues that the Trump administration “should certainly have recognition” for taking the center on long term, and gives as his reason that “if we don’t do that, it’s going to close. It’ll end up being ripped down,” without saying what “that” refers to. The closest competing label is “Mixed or conditional”, because the reason is framed as an if-clause. That loses because the if-clause supports his demand for recognition and attaches no reservation or criticism to it, whichever antecedent “that” has.
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More from this case
Read the full caseSheldon Whitehouse says Trump appointees' conduct is hard to square with the board's fiduciary duty
“Not easy to see how any of this behavior of Trump appointees comports with the board’s fiduciary duty to the Center.”Read statement
Dechicchis criticizes putting recognition ahead of improvements
“In Trump’s mind, if he doesn’t get the recognition he feels he deserves, there’s no point in continuing improvements on the center.”Read statement
Kerry Kennedy says Congress already funded the Kennedy Center's restoration and tells Trump "That's not your job"
“this is the memorial created by the United States Congress to a slain president. So, putting Trump's name on it would be like renaming the Washington Monument the Trump Washington Monument or the Trump Lincoln Memorial or the Trump Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. ... And their argument is they're not -- there is not money for it. But in the Big Beautiful Bill, they -- the Congress passed $246 million in order to restore the Kennedy Center. So that's just not true. ... So President Trump, do your job. Focus on the people's pain and the work that you're supposed to do in the -- in the Oval Office and not on the Kennedy Center. That's not your job.”Read statement
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- Trump says his administration “should certainly have recognition” because “if we don’t do that, it’s going to close”
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The Dispute Index. "Trump says his administration “should certainly have recognition” because “if we don’t do that, it’s going to close”". First published: 2026-09-19. Last updated: 2026-09-22. https://disputeindex.com/events/1168-asked-by-a-reporter-on-arrival-in-charlotte