Rep. Joyce Beatty details Trump’s Kennedy Center ‘tantrum,’ says venue is still open

Published September 15, 2026 10:46pm ET



Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH) said President Donald Trump threw a “tantrum” during a board meeting about the next steps for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and claimed the venue is still open despite the president saying otherwise.

Beatty, an ex officio member of the board, told CNN’s The Source about Trump phoning into the Kennedy Center board meeting on Tuesday, in which the president said the board voted to close the Washington, D.C., building immediately.

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