Broadway icon Patti LuPone calls the president a 'buffoon' over Trump-Kennedy Center renovation plans
Broadway star Patti LuPone criticized President Donald Trump’s proposed renovations of the Trump-Kennedy Center. LuPone referred to Trump as a "buffoon" during her New York City concert and urged resistance to the proposed changes.
"It’s over time for us to rise up and speak," LuPone said Monday at Carnegie Hall, Deadline reported.
On Sunday, Trump announced plans to close the venue for two years for renovations. LuPone called on audience members to take to social media to protest the changes, saying Trump "cannot touch the Kennedy Center."
Trump said the renovations would focus on infrastructure upgrades, including heating, ventilation and elevators, and insisted the building would not be torn down.
"I’ll be using the steel. So, we’re using the structure," he told reporters in the Oval Office. "We’re using some of the marble, and some of the marble comes down, but when it’s open, it’ll be brand new and really beautiful."
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Trump has taken a direct role in the Washington venue after a newly appointed Kennedy Center board elected him chair. In December 2025, the center’s board voted to add Trump’s name to the building, renaming it the Trump-Kennedy Center.
LuPone said she was "mad" about the proposed changes and urged protesters to "keep the building standing." Her comments follow remarks last year to The New Yorker writer Michael Schulman in which she said the center under Trump "should get blown up."
The White House provided the following statement when reached for comment by Fox News Digital:
"While the Democrats neglected the Trump-Kennedy Center for years, President Trump immediately stepped up to rescue and revitalize the institution," White House Assistant Press Secretary Liz Huston said. "President Trump is taking decisive action to modernize the facility, bring it into full compliance with all building standards, and optimize visitor flow for a world-class experience. Under President Trump’s leadership, the Trump-Kennedy Center will be the finest performing arts facility in the world and everyone will be able to enjoy the success, beauty, and grandeur for years to come."
A spokesperson for the Trump Kennedy Center pushed back on LuPone’s criticism, saying the institution is undergoing long-needed repairs.
"For decades, America’s cultural center deteriorated as entertainment industry Leftists sat back and did nothing to save it. Now, the Chairman of the Trump-Kennedy Center is revitalizing the institution through a fully-funded renovation it desperately needs while holding onto the building’s cultural significance," Roma Daravi, the Trump Kennedy Center’s vice president of public relations, said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
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"As Ms. LuPone pointed out, ‘art is the soul of the nation,’ and this historic renewal and beautification effort will give all Americans a place to come together and celebrate artistic excellence that uplifts and unites, rather than divides," she added.
LuPone is not the only artist to voice opposition to changes at the center during Trump’s current term. Several performers and productions canceled appearances at the venue, including banjo player Béla Fleck, composer Philip Glass, comedian Issa Rae and the musical "Hamilton."
Trump Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell also defended the planned updates, writing on X: "I am grateful for President Trump’s visionary leadership. I am also grateful to Congress for appropriating an historic $257M to finally address decades of deferred maintenance and repairs at the Trump Kennedy Center."
He added that the structure "desperately needs this renovation" and that a temporary closure will allow them to make the renovations more comprehensive.