There’s a reason the first two of the Ten Commandments prohibit worshiping false gods and making false idols. And a reason iconoclasm – the desecration of the monuments of a hated ruler or regime – is one of the oldest and most powerful symbolic forms of political revolt.

The revolutionary power of iconoclasm is also why Donald Trump – who understands the manipulation of imagery as well as anyone on earth – has had a huge blue and white tarp draped across the facade of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts while the letters of his name are pried off under court order.

Sooner or later, the tarp will fall – and with it, more of Trump’s already diminishing prestige.

The Kennedy Center was temporarily renamed The Donald J Trump and the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in December. Accusing the arts venue’s administration of mismanagement – which they denied – the president sacked the center’s chief and members of its board of directors and replaced them with allies, who immediately installed him as chair. Along with the shakeup in leadership came the layoffs of staff, the flight of artists, an overhaul in programming and a plummet in ticket sales. In February, the board announced the closure of the institution for two years of renovations, beginning 5 July 2026.

Despite the president’s machinations,........

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