Barbra Streisand has sharply criticized former President Donald Trump's "unchecked ego," denouncing his actions concerning the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Streisand, a vocal critic of Trump, described his attempts to alter the center, which honors the late President John F. Kennedy, as "galling and painful to witness."
Trump had reportedly threatened to demolish the center, a significant cultural institution and memorial. Streisand noted that renaming the center in JFK's honor was appropriate due to his support for the arts, making the recent events particularly distressing.
According to Streisand, Trump's efforts included an attempt to add his name to the building's facade, a move that was ultimately blocked by a federal judge. Following this setback, she wrote, a "a humiliated Trump ordered a large tarp placed over the façade, where it remains today." Despite this, a Trump-aligned board allegedly attempted to push for the name addition again, only to be met with another federal ruling against them.
More recently, Streisand stated that Trump announced the Kennedy Center would be closed for a major renovation, a decision attributed by the "completely stacked board" to the former president. Streisand pointed out the apparent contradiction, observing that "when Trump’s name was still on the building, there was no discussion of closing it!"
"You can easily imagine my indignation at seeing this revered institution become the subject of such a bitter struggle over one man’s name and unchecked ego," Streisand wrote, referring to her own experience as a Kennedy Center honoree.
She concluded her statement by emphasizing the importance of civic participation, urging Americans to "exercise their right to vote in the upcoming midterm elections." Earlier in the week, Streisand had expressed disbelief on X (formerly Twitter), writing, "This statement from Trump blows my mind. That a sitting president would not let any renovations to a public building go on unless he gets to first put his name in the said building… What a sad state of affairs. What a tragedy."