Trump says he won’t tear down the Kennedy Center arts venue but it needs to be closed for repairs

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Monday that he won’t tear down the Kennedy Center but said it needs to be closed for about two years for work that cannot be done with patrons coming and going for shows and other performances.

“I’m not ripping it down … but when it opens it will be brand new and beautiful,” Trump said while during an Oval Office press availability.

Trump’s comments, though, suggested that he intends to gut the interior of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

“The steel will all be checked out because it will be fully exposed,” the president said. He said the work would cost about $200 million, including the use of “the highest-grade marble, the highest-grade everything.”

Trump announced in a social media post Sunday that he intends to close the Kennedy Center on July 4 for about two years, subject to board approval.