Chellie Pingree says “it is bonkers” and that Trump is “the No. 1 problem” the Kennedy Center has had
Chellie PingreeU.S. Representative (D-ME) and the top Democrat on the House appropriations subcommittee that oversees funding for the Kennedy Center building, interviewed by The New York Times
In an interview with The New York Times, Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine, the top Democrat on the House appropriations subcommittee that oversees funding for the Kennedy Center building, said “It is bonkers” and that “The No. 1 problem the Kennedy Center has had is President Trump.” The Times presented her remarks as a Democratic response to statements by Kennedy Center spokesperson Roma Daravi that the center’s approach is nonpartisan and that Democratic critics are “knowingly stopping any work that is going to save this institution because they don’t want President Trump to get the credit.”
“It is bonkers. … The No. 1 problem the Kennedy Center has had is President Trump.”
Reporting
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
Reporting
About this source
The New York Times' report, based on internal emails and documents it obtained, on how the Kennedy Center has changed under President Trump's chairmanship. This copy is carried by The Seattle Times under its New York Times News Service license; the original is at nytimes.com/2026/09/20/us/politics/trump-kennedy-center.html. The Times does not say when Pingree's interview took place.
Before the quotation
The Times reported that Trump said “The Trump administration should certainly have recognition” because otherwise “it’s going to close, it’ll end up being ripped down.” It quoted Daravi’s Friday statement, “Our nonpartisan approach is evident by the consistent practice of welcoming everyone,” and reported that she told Real America’s Voice on Wednesday that Democratic critics “are knowingly stopping any work that is going to save this institution because they don’t want President Trump to get the credit.” It then wrote “Democrats scoffed” and quoted Pingree. The Times does not say what “it” in her first sentence refers to.
After the quotation
The Times’ account then turned to the center’s bipartisan history, from its conception under President Eisenhower to Trump’s installing allies on the board and becoming its chair. Daravi’s Real America’s Voice interview of September 16 is recorded separately in this case.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Pingree condemns. She dismisses the administration’s account of the center’s troubles as “bonkers” and names Trump himself as the center’s “No. 1 problem,” which rejects the premise that the closure and renovation turn on recognition for his administration rather than on his own conduct. The limitation is that she does not address the “ripped down” remark or the recognition condition by name, and the Times does not say what her “bonkers” answers; the label rests on her second sentence. The closest competing label is “Challenged the characterization”, because she also disputes a description of who is obstructing the work; it loses because she goes on to criticize Trump’s role rather than only the description.
- 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
- Chellie Pingree says “it is bonkers” and that Trump is “the No. 1 problem” the Kennedy Center has had
- First published
- Last updated
- Permalink
- https://disputeindex.com/events/1340-in-an-interview-with-the-new-york-times
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Chellie Pingree says “it is bonkers” and that Trump is “the No. 1 problem” the Kennedy Center has had". First published: 2026-09-21. Last updated: 2026-09-25. https://disputeindex.com/events/1340-in-an-interview-with-the-new-york-times