肯尼迪艺术中心拆除特朗普冠名标识Kennedy Center Removes Trump Signage Following Court Order

根据肯尼迪艺术中心行政总监兼首席运营官马特·弗洛卡于周六上午11点左右向美国哥伦比亚特区联邦地区法院提交的合规声明，该艺术中心已彻底拆除了所有将该机构冠名为特朗普的物理标识。弗洛卡在法庭文件中确认，施工人员已经移除了该中心建筑物及场地上（包括正门门廊处）所有声称将该中心改名为特朗普或除肯尼迪总统外任何其他个人的物理标识。

According to court compliance documents submitted around 11 a.m. EDT on Saturday to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Matt Floca, the executive director and chief operating officer of the Kennedy Center, confirmed the complete removal of all physical signage renaming the venue after President Trump. Floca stated in the filing that work crews had successfully stripped all physical signage from the performing arts center's building and grounds, including the front portico, that purported to rename the institution after Trump or any individual other than President Kennedy.

除了拆除建筑外观的物理标识外，该艺术中心还对数字化系统和内部行政办公用品进行了全面清理。弗洛卡在申报文件中指出，在过去几周内，官方已经删除了该中心网站上所有指向特朗普的更名内容，修改了员工的电子邮件签名，重新印制了信笺和宣传手册，并向员工发放了新的身份证件。此外，该中心还正式撤回了所有旨在将特朗普加入该机构名称的相关商标申请。

Beyond the physical alterations to the facade, the arts venue has completed a comprehensive digital and administrative overhaul to revert its branding. Floca detailed in his court filing that over the past several weeks, officials had removed references to Trump from the Kennedy Center's official website, updated employee email signatures, revised letterheads and brochures, and issued new identification cards to staff. Additionally, the institution has officially withdrawn all pending trademark applications that sought to add Trump's name to the venue.

此次拆除工作源于美国联邦地区法官克里斯托弗·库珀在5月下旬作出的裁决。库珀法官判定，特朗普将该表演艺术中心重新命名为自己名字的行为违反了联邦法律，不仅违反了该中心依法只能纪念肯尼迪总统的规定，还侵夺了国会的权力。在判决下达后的数周内，行政当局和司法部曾试图通过最后阶段的法律诉讼来阻止该判决的执行，但库珀法官和一家上诉法院在周五接连驳回了政府提出的暂缓执行判决的申请，从而维持了周六中午的最后期限。

The removal of the signage stems from a late May ruling by U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, who declared that Trump's rebranding of the performing arts center in his own name was illegal. Judge Cooper ruled that the renaming contravened federal law, which dictates the center can only honor President Kennedy, and usurped authority from Congress. In the weeks following the decision, the administration and the Department of Justice mounted last-ditch legal efforts to halt the enforcement of the order, but both Judge Cooper and an appeals court denied their requests for a stay on Friday, keeping the Saturday noon deadline in place.

尽管面临明确的法庭命令，拆除进度在最后关头仍遭遇了自然天气的阻碍。周五晚间，华盛顿地区遭遇了严重的雷暴天气，导致肯尼迪艺术中心的工作人员未能按原计划在周五夜间的截止日期前完成拆除。为此，该中心曾向法院申请延长合规期限，最终工人们在风暴过后加紧作业，赶在周六中午的最后期限前完成了所有物理标识的拆除工作。

Despite the clear judicial mandate, the final phase of compliance faced immediate physical obstacles due to severe weather. On Friday evening, severe thunderstorms raked the Washington area, causing weather-related delays that prevented work crews from meeting an initial Friday night target. The Kennedy Center sought an additional extension before ultimately rushing to complete the physical removal of the signage on Saturday morning, successfully filing the compliance notice just ahead of the court-mandated Saturday noon deadline.

在拆除作业现场，整个施工过程被一块巨大的白色篷布严密遮挡。工人们在为施工搭建的脚手架上悬挂了这块篷布，并在其遮挡下完成了拆除工作。截至周六晚间，这块白色篷布依然悬挂在原处，导致外界几乎无法直接看到特朗普的冠名标识是否已被完全移除，也无法看清是否已重新显露出该建筑数十年来一直保留的“约翰·F·肯尼迪表演艺术纪念中心”原始字样。目前尚不清楚这块篷布还将保留多久。

The physical removal of the signage at the plaza was shielded from public view by a large white tarp hung over the scaffolding constructed for the work crews. Workers performed the removal behind this barrier early Saturday morning, and the tarp remained in place through Saturday night. As a result, it was virtually impossible for onlookers to see directly whether the signage was gone or to catch a glimpse of the original lettering, "The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts," which had endured for decades. It remains unclear how long the tarp will stay standing.

尽管现场视线受阻，但从周五下午开始，肯尼迪艺术中心门前的广场上就聚集了数百名市民和围观群众。许多人一直逗留到周六清晨，他们来到这里并非为了抗议，而是为了亲眼见证法治的执行与对权力的约束。在现场围观的华盛顿当地居民、某社会正义组织成员克里斯托·布鲁尔表示，拆除该标识具有巨大的象征意义，这表明任何人都不能仅仅因为自认为是最有权力的人，就觉得可以无视法庭的判决。

Despite the obscured view, several hundred people gathered on the plaza in front of the building's white facade along the Potomac River, with many arriving on Friday afternoon and staying into the early hours of Saturday morning. Rather than a protest, the crowd assembled to witness the enforcement of the court order and see if the rule of law would prevail. Krystal Brewer, a 40-year-old Washington resident who works for a social justice organization, noted that taking down the name carried significant symbolic weight, stating that it represents the principle that individuals cannot defy the courts simply because they believe they are the most powerful person.

在法院强制执行拆除令后，推动清除特朗普冠名标识的各方人士表达了庆祝。作为肯尼迪艺术中心董事会当然成员并起诉要求移除相关冠名及运营标识的民主党籍俄亥俄州众议员乔伊斯·贝蒂，于周五晚间和周六上午现身该艺术中心广场。贝蒂在社交媒体上发布了一段视频，展示其在该中心的一个大厅内跳起“特朗普舞”进行庆祝。她在声明中表示，当天的胜利是向美国人民归还肯尼迪艺术中心的开始，并强调法治得到了维护，这值得庆祝。

Those who pushed for the removal of Trump's name from the venue celebrated the enforcement of the court order. Representative Joyce Beatty, a Democrat from Ohio and an ex officio member of the Kennedy Center's board of trustees who sued to strip references to the president from the building and its operations, was seen at the plaza on Friday evening and Saturday morning. Beatty posted a video on social media showing her performing the "Trump dance" in one of the center's great halls. In a statement, Beatty declared that the victory marked the beginning of returning the Kennedy Center to the American people, adding that the prevalence of the rule of law was worth celebrating.

尽管此次拆除工作已经完成，但该艺术中心未来的走向依然笼罩在重重悬念之中。虽然特朗普的冠名标识已在周六凌晨被连夜移除，但外界仍有许多疑问悬而未决，其中最核心的问题在于这一更名决定未来是否会彻底保持原样、不再发生变动。目前，该艺术中心未来是否会面临进一步的法律或行政博弈仍不明朗。

Despite the successful removal of the physical and digital branding, the future of the performing arts center remains shrouded in uncertainty. Although President Trump's name was stripped from the facade overnight on Saturday, numerous questions remain unanswered for the landmark institution. Chief among these unresolved issues is whether or not the name change will permanently stay off, leaving the long-term branding of the iconic cultural venue in question.