The Memo: Trump doubles down on demand for ‘recognition’ in Kennedy Center fight

President Trump is doubling down on his insistence that he needs “recognition” from the Kennedy Center in return for planned renovations.

Trump’s assertion Friday afternoon seems to mean he is holding fast to his demand that his name should be added to the center in some shape or form — even though a court ruled against him on that score this past week.

“If we’re going to save the Kennedy Center, I think the Trump administration should be given recognition for doing so,” the president told reporters during an Oval Office encounter that was otherwise dominated by his declaration that he would ban three news organizations — CNN, MS NOW and Politico — from the White House.

The furor over the Kennedy Center has consumed much of the week, with developments coming thick and fast. 

First, a judge reaffirmed that Trump’s name cannot be added to the performing arts center unless Congress were to approve such a change.

The legislation that created the Kennedy Center characterizes it as a “living memorial” to President John F. Kennedy, assassinated in Dallas in 1963. Therefore, the courts have taken the view that a decision made by Congress can only be amended by Congress — not by a vote of the Trump-friendly board of the center nor by fiat by the president himself.

Following that court decision, the board announced the center’s closure in a move ostensibly prompted by a need for repairs and by fragile finances. It’s widely accepted that some renovations are necessary, but Trump’s opponents on the issue have contended repairs could be made in stages while the center remains open.

Trump himself then raised the specter of the Kennedy Center, which officially opened in 1971, being demolished — or “ripped down,” as he put it. This in turn appears to have spurred a judge on Thursday to stipulate that 30 days’ notice would be required before any significant changes — including demolition — could be made to the........

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