President Trump defended a $25 million carve-out for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts added to a bipartisan coronavirus relief package.
The Senate passed the relief package early Wednesday morning with the provision for the Kennedy Center added after Democrats pulled support for the original bill despite bipartisan cooperation to craft it. Trump defended the addition in a press conference on Wednesday evening.
“The Kennedy Center has suffered greatly because nobody can go there. It’s essentially closed,” Trump said. The Kennedy Center is a federally funded performance theater that puts on musicals, orchestras, and other live performances.
“That was a Democrat request. That was not my request,” Trump added. “But you got to give them something.”
The president said that he supported the funding for the center and that the relief was also a gesture of goodwill to congressional Democrats.
“The Democrats have treated us fairly. I really believe that we’ve had a very good back-and-forth,” Trump said.
The Senate passed the $2 trillion relief package to float individuals and companies financially hit by the coronavirus and government lockdowns through the pandemic. The package includes a $1,200 check for most people.
