Why We Never Bend The Knee
Friday was a tough way for our turd-in-chief to kick off his birthday weekend.
First off, there was a deadline for the removal of Trump's name from the Kennedy Center. While the Trump Administration dragged out the order throughout the day, Trump's name was eventually removed in the wee hours of Saturday morning. From the BBC:
US President Donald Trump's name has been taken down from the front of the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, after a judge ordered its removal.
The performance arts venue said in a court filing it had now fully complied with the ruling and that Trump's name no longer appeared on its building, website or other materials.
The president's name had been added to the venue unlawfully, a federal judge found last month, ordering its removal by Friday 12 June.
Crews erected scaffolding on Friday as onlookers gathered, though thunderstorms delayed the work until early on Saturday. A last‑minute attempt by the Trump administration to pause the order was rejected by the judge.
The case stems from a broader legal dispute over the renaming of the cultural institution, which US law designates as a memorial to President John F Kennedy.
A group called Hands Off the Arts, which says it seeks to keep art free from government control, held a small rally outside the Kennedy Center on Friday.
Attendees cheered for the workers putting up scaffolding around the building's signage, chanting "take it down!" as one of the group's leaders spoke into a megaphone.
When another organiser announced that an appeals court denied the Trump administration's second attempt to block the judge's order, the crowd erupted in celebratory cheers.
In the early hours of Saturday, workers hung long plastic sheeting from the structure, obscuring the removal of the letters.
As of Saturday afternoon, the sheeting was still blocking the view of the Kennedy Center sign.
US District Court Judge Christopher Cooper ruled in late May that the venue in central Washington DC cannot be renamed without congressional approval.
He also blocked the centre's temporary closure during upcoming proposed renovations.
An appeals court declined to intervene immediately, allowing the removal to proceed pending further arguments.
The Trump administration had argued that changing the centre's name could create confusion if the decision were later overturned.
The US president announced the addition of his name to the institution, among other rebranding measures across the nation's capital, last year.
In February 2025, he replaced several trustees on the centre's board and appointed himself as a trustee before being voted in as the arts centre's chairman.
A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to restore sites changed under an executive order calling for the nation's museums, parks and landmarks to not display elements that "inappropriately disparage Americans past or living."
The preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley in Massachusetts also orders a pause on any additional changes, writing that the plaintiffs have shown that these efforts are meant "to rewrite the Nation's history with a white-out pen."
"History cannot be faithfully told while excluding the experiences of communities whose contributions, struggles, and achievements form an important part of our Nation's story," the judge wrote.
The Trump administration must also provide a status report every week describing the progress they've made with these changes, the judge wrote.
"Under the guise of promoting American dignity, this Administration seeks to share a limited history by ordering the removal of all signs, displays, and interpretive exhibits at National Parks that do not align with its preferred narrative, thereby telling half-truths," Kelley wrote.
The order comes in response to a February lawsuit filed by conservation and historical organizations over National Park Service policies that the groups say have forced park service staff to remove or censor dozens of exhibits that share factually accurate and relevant U.S. history and scientific knowledge, including about slavery and climate change.
Many of the changes were at Philadelphia's Independence National Historical Park, where the administration removed exhibits on the lives of nine people enslaved at the site in the 1790s under George Washington, the first U.S. president. Other changes included removing a sign at Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument in Arizona describing basalt bubbles because it had an image of a visitor holding a Pride flag while films on labor history were removed from the Lowell National Historical Park in Massachusetts.
President Donald Trump signed the executive order "restoring truth and sanity to American history" at the nation's museums, parks and landmarks last year. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum later directed removal of "improper partisan ideology" from museums, monuments, landmarks and other public exhibits under federal control.
An email seeking comment from the Interior Department was sent Saturday.
Alan Spears, senior director for cultural resources for the National Parks Conservation Association, one of the organizations that brought the lawsuit, said the ruling will help protect national parks from the administration's effort "to erase history and science at these one-of-a-kind places."
"National parks belong to the American people and censorship of any kind goes against the values these places represent," he said.
Bill Wade, executive director for the Association of National Park Rangers, another organization that brought the lawsuit, said this is especially good news for National Parks employees who "have prided themselves for being able to provide truthful, accurate and unbiased information."
All in all, a bad way to start off the weekend for the president. But a great way to start off the weekend for the American people.
Because, as we've seen consistently for the past 17 months, Donald Trump and the Republican Party have no respect for our country's laws, traditions, and norms. They want nothing more than to reshape the country in their image, an image that perpetuates White supremacy. They feel they can either buy or bully their opponents in a way that gets them what they want. But what they're finding is that there are those who won't bend the knee. There are those who know that they are in the right. There are those who know that they have the law on their side. And there are those who know that, despite public pressure against them, they are on the correct side of history and that justice will prevail.
Nobody better exemplifies all of this than Ohio Congresswoman Joyce Beatty. Beatty had been a Kennedy Center board member since 2019 but became increasingly disturbed as Trump took over the board with his own people less than a month into his second term. At a December virtual board meeting, a proposal was brought forth to add Trump's name to the building, and Beatty objected, fully understanding that a name change could legally only be done through an act of Congress. Beatty was muted during the meeting, the Trump-led board would go on to say that the decision was made unanimously, and the very next day, Trump's name was added to the facade. Naturally, that didn't sit well with Beatty, and she went ahead and filed a lawsuit, knowing that the law was on her side. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper agreed with Beatty at the end of May, giving the administration two weeks to remove Trump's name. Despite several last-minute attempts by the administration to delay the removal and a comical display to hide the removal itself, the Kennedy Center was free of Donald Trump's name by the late morning hours of June 13th.
As time progresses, we will see more of this. Trump's brand, going back a half-century, has always been a shock-and-awe approach. He attempts to intimidate and overwhelm those in his path, and he often does it through legal means. It's how he forced hundreds of small contractors to accept a mere percentage of what they were owed because he used his overwhelming legal team and resources to coerce them to finally give in or risk being tied up in court so long that it would eventually not even be worth it. Trump has continued this approach as president. While the Kennedy Center and National Parks are but the latest examples, we've also seen Trump try to intimidate celebrities, institutions, and his political opponents through legal action. With the power of what he believes is his personal Justice Department, Trump believes he is above the law and can buy and bully those in his path. His opponents have been given a choice: give in or fight. What we saw on Friday was that those who fight can, and will, win.
Donald Trump is no king, no matter what he believes. He cannot unilaterally rename The Kennedy Center, even if he has his own hand-chosen members on its board. He cannot censor our National Parks, even if he personally rejects the accurate depiction of our nation's history. As Congresswoman Beatty so accurately stated, "It's all about the rule of law." What Friday showed us is that the rule of law still applies to Donald Trump, even if he doesn't believe that it does. That is the reason that our system of government has endured for 250 years. That is the reason why it will endure Donald Trump. He can bitch and moan all he wants, but Donald Trump has to follow it, too. While his "Party of Law and Order" has conveniently turned a blind eye to Trump's repeated efforts, countless district judges have not. Each victory against Trump is a win for the rule of law and a win for the American people. This is not an imperial presidency, and Donald Trump is and never will be king.
And there's no better time to remind him of that than his birthday weekend.