Trump Labeled Kennedy Center Board Member 'Dumb' in Behind-the-Scenes Meltdown After She Rejected Slapping Prez's Name on Iconic Building
Joyce Beatty claimed Trump 'went into a tantrum' over the Kennedy Center's name.
Sept. 18 2026, Published 7:18 p.m. ET
Joyce Beatty accused President Donald Trump of throwing a fit after U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper blocked recent efforts to add the 80-year-old's name to the iconic building.
Beatty, an ex-officio member of the Kennedy Center board, sued Trump and others in December 2025 over their attempt to rebrand the institution.
'He Went Into a Tantrum'
Trump lost in court against Rep. Joyce Beatty.
“So they opened up the board meeting by informing the board that we had again, (in) Beatty v. Trump, Beatty had been victorious. And he went into a tantrum," she said during her appearance on MS NOW’s The Weeknight.
Beatty described Trump’s reaction as "the most unprofessional thing that I’ve ever witnessed or been a part of," according to Forbes.
She then claimed that the POTUS had called her an "obstructionist" and "dumb" over their disagreement.
Joyce Beatty called Trump's alleged behavior 'unprofessional.'
“He said, ‘I think you’re incompetent.’ And I said, ‘I know you’re incompetent,’” Beatty replied. "And I looked to the chair … and I said, ‘Are we really going to do this? This is unprofessional.’ But I was not going to let him call me awful things.”
Beatty also said Trump told her he would hold her responsible if something “fell out of the ceiling and killed someone.”
“You’re already killing people. We’re at war. We also have people who are starving. You’re doing this,” Beatty said.
Joyce Beatty and Donald Trump's Heated Argument Continues
Trump had been fighting for the building to be named the “Trump-Kennedy Center.”
The argument got more heated as Trump reportedly spoke of “how great he was with developing” and claimed that Beatty had “never done anything,” to which she reminded him that he had “more bankruptcies than anybody in the room.”
Kennedy Center lawyers are currently appealing the judge's ruling.
The dispute came as the Kennedy Center faces even more problems. The Trump-appointed board voted to immediately close the center’s main building as part of a planned two-year, $250 million renovation, citing worsening finances and structural issues that allegedly posed risks to staff and the public.
Trump took to Truth Social and warned that he may give up on renovations for the building entirely if the appeal doesn't go in his favor.
"If the ruling is a negative one, which it should not be, and is not overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Reconstruction and the Renovation of The Kennedy Center will not take place," he wrote.
'Virtual State of Collapse'
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Trump has said the Kennedy Center is in need of serious repair.
Trump has previously described the Kennedy Center as being in a “virtual state of collapse” and called himself the “only one” who could “save” the institution.
His administration and the Kennedy Center board have argued that Democrats failed to address the institution’s condition and that opposition to recognizing Trump has complicated efforts to secure funding for the renovation.
