Cory Booker says of the Kennedy Center that Trump is trying to "hold it hostage until he gets his name on it"
Cory BookerU.S. Senator (D-NJ), in an interview on CNN's The Source with Kaitlan Collins
Asked by host Kaitlan Collins on CNN's The Source on September 17, 2026 whether President Trump is "laying the groundwork to knock down the Kennedy Center," Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) said Trump is trying to "hold it hostage until he gets his name on it" and called that "absolutely ridiculous." Booker described the building as an arts institution named after a slain president and paid for by taxpayers.
“Him taking an institution of the arts, named after a slain president, paid for by taxpayers, he's trying to hold it hostage until he gets his name on it. This is absolutely ridiculous.”
Interview
Original post
Original video
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
Interview
About this source
CNN's published transcript of the show (aired 9-10 PM ET on Sept. 17), labelled a rush transcript that may not be in final form. The quotation uses its punctuation; the wording was checked against the audio (Collins's own clip and CNN's podcast audio) and matches, with only punctuation differing (transcript: 'slain president, paid for by taxpayers, he's trying'; audio and Collins's X post: 'paid for by taxpayers. He's trying').
Original post
About this source
Post by the show's host on her own account (created 2026-09-18T01:32:24Z, i.e. 9:32 PM ET on Sept. 17) with a 50-second clip of Booker's answer. The quoted words are our transcription of the clip audio and match the CNN transcript. The post text itself quotes 'This is what we are talking about tonight, him taking an institution of the arts named after a slain president, paid for by taxpayers. He's trying to hold it hostage until he gets his name on it.'
Sen. Cory Booker discusses the Kennedy Center on CNN's "The Source," Sept. 17, 2026.
DI added its logo in the corner.
Video: CNN (posted on X by @kaitlancollins). Excerpt used for news reporting and commentary
Watch the full original video (opens in a new tab) (relevant passage: Video, about 0:34 to 0:47 (the clip runs 50 seconds and starts mid-answer).)
Original video
About this source
Audio-only podcast edition of the same broadcast; the CNN page lists it as posted Sep 18, 2026. The Booker passage matches the episode audio word for word.
Before the quotation
The segment followed an AFP photograph, taken the previous night at Joint Base Andrews, of President Trump looking at a poster that CNN said appears to read "Kennedy Center Demolished," and a clip of Trump's September 16 remarks to reporters. Collins asked Booker whether Trump is "laying the groundwork to knock down the Kennedy Center."
After the quotation
Booker went on to say that Republicans are not asserting Congress's authority to hold the president accountable and that he would do everything he can "to fight to not have it be torn down."
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Asked about Trump's remarks and the 'Kennedy Center Demolished' photograph, Booker says Trump is "trying to hold it hostage until he gets his name on it" and calls that "absolutely ridiculous," an express rejection of tying the institution's fate to Trump's name. The closest competing label is “Challenged the characterization”, because "hold it hostage" is Booker's own description of the position. That loses because he pairs the description with a direct evaluation instead of only disputing how the position should be labeled.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Donald Trump
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
Share or embed this statement
The embed keeps its attribution link to The Dispute Index. Credit the image to The Dispute Index and link to the statement page.
Cite this record
- Publisher
- The Dispute Index
- Title
- Cory Booker says of the Kennedy Center that Trump is trying to "hold it hostage until he gets his name on it"
- First published
- Last updated
- Permalink
- https://disputeindex.com/events/1186-asked-by-host-kaitlan-collins-on-cnn-s
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Cory Booker says of the Kennedy Center that Trump is trying to "hold it hostage until he gets his name on it"". First published: 2026-09-19. Last updated: 2026-09-22. https://disputeindex.com/events/1186-asked-by-host-kaitlan-collins-on-cnn-s