The Kennedy Center's board in its rebranding effort announced a new name for the cultural institution. On 18 December, the members of the board voted to rename it after US President Donald Trump — “The Donald J Trump and The John F Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.” Rebranding efforts were in full swing outside the building on the following day, but the board missed the new website domain in its rebranding drive as it had already been bought by a comedian months ago.
To replace the website domain kennedy-center.org with trumpkennedycenter.org or trumpkennedycenter.com, the organization’s leaders were hit with a snag as the domain was already registered by Toby Morton. The 56-year-old comedy writer with “South Park” and “Mad TV” credits buys political domains and turns them into satirical websites. “As soon as Trump began gutting the Kennedy Center board earlier this year, I thought, ‘Yep, that name’s going on the building,’” Washington Post quoted Toby Morton as saying.
As per the report, the comedian followed news of Trump’s takeover of the institution over the year. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the center's board voted for the change because of the Republican's "unbelievable work" in overhauling the famed venue.
It is important to note that many individuals speculatively purchase website domains in an attempt to make a profit out of it one day as registering a new domain usually costs around $15 to $30. However, the takeover of an already existing domain can come at a hefty price.
According to the comedian based in the Midwest, no one from the Trump administration contacted him about his Kennedy Center sites so far and no one offered a deal, but he received inquiries from “a few random lawyers confidently explaining that satire is illegal now.”
Rebranding of Kennedy Center
The newly rebranded X account — Trump Kennedy Center — in a post stated, “Today, we proudly unveil the updated exterior designation—honoring the leadership of President Donald J. Trump and the enduring legacy of John F. Kennedy,” after Trump's name was affixed to the Kennedy Center signage.
Earlier this year, Donald Trump purged many of the existing board members of the US capital's renowned arts center and replaced them with loyalists. In a step-by-step rebranding drive, he announced plans to personally host the Kennedy Center Honors. The 79-year-old Republican even appointed himself as its chairman of the board.
Notably, naming a national institution after a sitting president is unprecedented in US history as landmarks like the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial and the Kennedy Center were all named after their deaths. According to the board of trustees who voted unanimously on Thursday, the rebranding recognizes Trump's work to revitalize the institution.
