Rep. Beatty calls it "outrageous" that courts must protect the Kennedy Center from "getting bulldozed by the President"
United States Representative for Ohio's 3rd district, ex officio Kennedy Center trustee and plaintiff in Beatty v. Trump, in a statement reported by CNBC
“It is simply outrageous that we have gotten to the point of consistent judicial intervention to protect this historic institution from getting bulldozed by the President”
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
News report (page metadata published 2026-09-17T14:22Z, modified 20:22Z; the headline shown is the current og:title, and search indexes show an earlier headline for the same URL). It attributes the sentence to a statement by Beatty and confirms the same-day sequence: her Thursday-morning notice to the court, Cooper's denial of an emergency hearing and his 30-day notice order. CNBC's own text calls Trump's remark a 'threat'; that is CNBC's characterization and is not adopted in the record.
Original text
About this source
CourtListener mirror of the PACER docket, opened 2026-09-19; the docket page shows the entries and the full text of the minute order. The ECF 85 PDF was also read: it quotes Trump's 2026-09-16 remarks and describes the placard photograph. Used for the context sentences only.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
On the morning of 2026-09-17 Beatty's lawyers filed a notice with the court quoting Trump's 2026-09-16 remarks to reporters about the Kennedy Center project and describing a photograph circulating on social media that appears to show a placard reading "Kennedy Center DEMOLISHED". The same day Judge Cooper denied her request for an emergency hearing but ordered the defendants to give more than 30 days' written notice before any change to the project plans, including any "demolition" of the main building, and to file a sworn status report by 2026-09-23.
After the quotation
On 2026-09-18 the defendants moved to vacate or dissolve the court's May 29, 2026 preliminary injunction and for partial summary judgment (ECF 88 and 89). Their sworn status report on the center's "temporary closure" is due 2026-09-23.
How this statement is classified
Case context: Donald Trump's statements linking the Kennedy Center's renovation to recognition for his administration
The label describes this statement’s response within the context above.
Why this label?
The case's fixed reference point is President Trump's stated position that the Kennedy Center's closure and renovation depend on recognition for his administration, as expressed in his Truth Social post of 2026-09-15 and reaffirmed in his remarks to reporters in Charlotte on 2026-09-16. Beatty, whose lawyers put the Charlotte remarks before the court earlier that day, calls it "simply outrageous" that things have reached "the point of consistent judicial intervention to protect this historic institution from getting bulldozed by the President", an express criticism of the President's conduct toward the building. The closest competing label is challenges_characterization, because "bulldozed" also describes what she says is being done to the building. That loses because she does not stop at disputing a description: she calls the situation outrageous and, in the same statement, says she will continue to fight.
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Donald Trump's statements linking the Kennedy Center's renovation to recognition for his administration
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More from this case
Read the full case“I keep wondering how insecure, how narcissistic, how egomaniacal you have to be to say you'll demolish a building if they don't put your name on it.”Read statement
“Donald Trump has spent countless hours on ridiculous vanity projects instead of trying to tackle the sky-high cost of living or ending his failed war in Iran, and now he's threatening to tear down the Kennedy Center just because he can't slap his name on it. It's sad, shallow, and a disgrace to the institution which by law honors our 35th president. We will continue fighting this obsession and defend this national cultural center in Congress and the courts”Read statement
“I don't mind doing the job, but if I do the job, I think the Trump administration, including Bobby, but the Trump administration should be recognized. Why should I raise and put up and do all of this work?”Read statement