Transcription
All day, Americans have been eagerly awaiting the moment that Trump's name finally gets stripped off the Kennedy Center. Believe me, I drive by the Kennedy Center all the time. I can't wait myself.
So this was the crowd that gathered outside of the Kennedy Center this morning to watch as workers set up scaffolding to strip Trump's name from the building. Online, literally millions of people, we've talked about this already, watched live streams for hours, which is remarkable, given the big action they were watching was basically scaffolding being built. It was a fun people here. It looks like quite the party.
And there to celebrate her victory was Democratic Congresswoman from Ohio, Joyce Beatty. You see the reason any of this is really happening today is because Joyce Beatty is on the board of the Kennedy Center, and when Trump's new appointees to that board added his name to the center, she sued, arguing that legally an act of Congress was required to rename the building. And last month, a judge agreed with her, saying, quote, "Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name and only Congress can change it." The judge ordered Trump's name be stripped from the building by tonight.
And yesterday, the Trump-appointed leadership at the Kennedy Center tried to get that decision paused. Then this morning, the judge denied that request, saying Trump's name had to go. And then this afternoon, after the scaffolding had been built and workers were ready to start peeling off Trump's name, the Trump-appointed leadership at the Kennedy Center tried again. They appealed the decision. Tonight, that appeal was rejected. And I kid you not, moments after that final appeal was rejected, a literal rainbow appeared across the Kennedy Center. A double rainbow, actually.
Here's Congresswoman Joyce Beatty embracing that magical moment. There she is. She looks pretty freaking happy for good reason. And now tonight, we, along with a growing in-person crowd and millions more people online, we're not just watching the scaffolding get built, we are waiting for the moment Trump's name gets torn off that wall.
Joining me now to discuss this and other many other things is Glenn Kirshner, a former federal prosecutor and the host of the Justice Matters podcast. Okay, there are 3 million people, if not more, who have tuned in to watch the MSNOW livestream. That tells you something about how much people care about this. So tell us at this point, two hours and 20 minutes from midnight. Are there any legal avenues left for Trump at this point, or is this the end of the road for him as it comes to his name on the Kennedy Center?
You know, it seems like it's the end of the legal road, Jen. And the only question is, will Donald Trump's executive branch comply with the order? Does he have to remove his name from the Kennedy Center, or will he play a game of chicken and see how the court responds, knowing that the court doesn't exactly have a law enforcement agency of its own to enforce its orders? It does have the U.S. Marshals Service, which by law is required, is obligated to enforce federal court orders. But we all know the Marshals Service is part of the executive branch in the Department of Justice. So, you know, I hope and I expect we'll see those letters begin to come off before midnight. But, you know, with Trump and his administration, you know, it's anyone's guess. I love, perfect way to describe it. There's no more legal avenues, but we've just got to be clear-eyed here about what they're capable of.
Okay, so today a different judge issued an equally, or if not more, brutal ruling against. And I think it's a little bit of the ruling. You were in court for that ruling. What can you tell us about the tenor of the judge's ruling?
I can only describe it, Jen, as a legal smackdown by of the D.O.J., Todd Blanch, and Donald Trump's $1.8 billion so-called weaponization fund. She really kind of, I think, figuratively grabbed hold of the loan DOJ attorney who was at council table, somebody named Andru Block. Looking at his LinkedIn, he has been at the Department of Justice ever since May of 2026. So nobody can accuse him of being a veteran DOJ attorney. And he didn't even get to to make his argument. The first thing Judge Brinclem has said is, you know, you were in court two days ago across the river in Judge Leon's courtroom and Judge Leon asked you the question, why hasn't Acting Attorney General Todd Blanch rescinded the agreement to create the weaponization fund, which would mean it, it would be legally dead and it couldn't be revived? And you told Judge Leon, I don't have an answer to that question. Didn't you go back and ask either Todd Blanch or your? The question is, I need an answer to that question. Question because I need an answer to that question. And she said, and she was incredulous when he said, "Your Honor, I still don't have an answer to that question." And so whereas Judge Leon two days ago declined to enter a temporary restraining order and put basically a stop work order in place on, he said, "Don't play possum on me, D.O.J." Well, you know what? Judge Brinchma was not going to give D.O.J. the opportunity to. She was not at all satisfied that there was any evidence of record that D.O.J. would not move forward whenever it saw fit, and she put a preliminary injunction in place. And she did give D.O.J. the opportunity one week, and she said, "If Todd Blanch and weaponization fund and that it, the Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessen, sign a sworn declaration that weaponization fund and that it is legally dead and cannot be resurrected, I will revisit my ruling." But as of right now, there is a stop work order, a preliminary injunction in place. And, you know, she was clearly not going to play games or listen to any Todd Blanch double-speak.
So, helpful rundown there. All right, quickly before we let you go, again, this is, I guess, again, a legal question, of course. They've been scheming. It's been reporting that the Justice Department is still scheming behind the scenes. I suspect they are, right? On how to revive it. What could they? What do they do?
Well, you know, now they're going to have to fish or cut bait. They're either going to have to file these sworn declarations, and I can't, I want to tell you, Jen, how many times Judge Brincum has said, "I want these things signed under the penalties of perjury by Todd Blanch and Scott Bessen." So either they're going to provide what the judge has asked for, and then she'll reconsider whether the issue really is moot because there's no legal possibility for the fund to be revived and maybe dismiss the case as moot, or they won't. And then, as far as I can see, the litigation will just continue through the system with the preliminary injunction, the stop work order remaining in place. But I can tell you, Judge Princima clearly doesn't play. We love a judge who doesn't play in this time, day, and age.
Glenn Kirshner, thank you for being here with me on a Friday. It's always great to talk to you.
Thanks, Jen.