Donald Trump has in lurched, in short order, from would-be savior to abductor of the Kennedy Center, replacing vows to restore the facility’s greatness with a threat to demolish it if he can’t put his name on it.

Construction crews fenced off the center on Wednesday, making it the latest in a series of Washington landmarks where Trump’s grand renovation plans have devolved into stalled construction projects that have left public facilities closed to the public.

“It’s death by a thousand cuts,” one DC resident said.Video by Sonel Cutler

Trump told reporters Wednesday that the Kennedy Center might be “ripped down” if his administration did not receive “recognition” for working to improve it. Later he was photographed studying a poster board that appeared to say, “Kennedy Center DEMOLISHED.” A spokesperson for the center countered Thursday that “nothing is being demolished.” And US District Judge Christopher Cooper, who previously ruled that Trump’s name must be removed from the facility’s wall, ordered the administration to provide 30 days’ notice before making any major physical changes to the building, including........

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