Trump Flees as Judge Considers Replacing His Kennedy Center Board Because of Bankruptcy Threat?!?

0:00Michael Popok:Donald Trump has the Kennedy Center by a death grip, but he's not letting go. And in a new resolution that the board of the Kennedy Center, basically appointed by Donald Trump, is considering tomorrow on Tuesday, they're thinking about declaring bankruptcy, closing the Kennedy Center indefinitely, all because Donald Trump refuses to come forward and save it unless they slap his name on it, which is in violation of a law. establishing the Kennedy Center as a living memorial to JFK. Only Congress can make that decision. And by the way, Congress can also fund the Kennedy Center. We're talking about pocket change here for a federal government.

0:46Michael Popok:Hundreds of billions of dollars are wasted by Donald Trump every month. We're talking about about$100 million to put this Kennedy Center right side up, and he won't do it unless his name is put on it? I don't think Judge Cooper, who's also holding a hearing 10 a.m. on Tuesday, is going to take kindly to this. And I'm going to encourage Judge Cooper, as I have in the past, to remove the Kennedy board, to replace it with hand-picked receivers, court officers, officers of the court that report to him to take over the operation of the Kennedy Center, its finances, because all I've seen from this Kennedy Center board and its majority, people like John Thune, Maria Bartiromo, Pam Bondi, Usha Vance, Howard Lutnick's wife, is complete incompetence.

1:38Michael Popok:All they're doing is bending over for Donald Trump. They're choking it to death in order for Donald Trump to come in and save it and come to the rescue. Michael Popak, let me break it down for you here on the new reporting coming out of the The Washington Post, New York Times, and other places about the Kennedy Center. This is all overseen by Judge Chris Cooper in the District of Columbia Federal Court. He already ordered as a permanent injunction, I mean, final judgment, they are not allowed to change that name. Apparently, they didn't get the message. And now they've tried to link Donald Trump's name going up on the building as a way to save the building.

2:15Michael Popok:The Washington Post already did reporting that the reason that programming, you know, the performers refuse to perform there are because of Donald Trump. So they've lost almost 90 percent or more of their ticket sales. And fundraising has dried up because nobody wants to contribute to the Kennedy Center while Donald Trump is president. So I don't see how putting his name on the building is going to make it any better. In fact, quite worse. But because Donald Trump wants to strangle financially the Kennedy Center, have his board do it as we're watching them in plain view, chloroform the Kennedy Center, and then claim that only Donald Trump can save it.

2:54Michael Popok:If Donald Trump could save it, he should save it now. Two entities can resolve this. Actually, one. Congress, stroke a check, send over$100 or$200 million, whatever's necessary, to the Kennedy Center so that during this era of Trump where their endowment has withered apparently to nothing in breach of the fiduciary duties of these people, of these trustees, it can be refunded. Now, look, if there are structural issues and there are and, you know, I'm not saying that Trump caused a four by five panel of of the ceiling to fall 60 feet after a rainstorm in early September. Actually, they posted a social media post about it.

3:41Michael Popok:Let's play the clip.

4:15Michael Popok:And I'm sure there are soft fit problems. There are maintenance problems. There are structural problems. The building being built in the 1960s, I'm sure it could use beyond a fresh coat of paint, a structural review. But the fact that in this era of Trump, they can't raise money because his name is threatened to be on the building is a reason Congress needs to step forward and make sure that the living memorial, the only one in D.C. to John F. Kennedy's memory, be preserved. It shouldn't be up to whoever is the president of the United States. When did we ever talk about the Kennedy Center like, well, it's doing really well because Barack Obama's in office, or it's doing very poorly because George Bush is in office?

4:57Michael Popok:It should be completely untethered. And the line cut shouldn't matter who's the occupant of the Oval Office. The Kennedy Center should have its own endowment, its own funding from Congress that is apolitical, not hyperpolitical, which is what we're watching it. A president shouldn't be allowed to put his hands around the neck of the Kennedy Center and choke it out in plain view. And that's where I'm going to turn to Chris Cooper, the federal judge. He already entered a preliminary, a permanent injunction. Name of Trump stays off the Kennedy Center. That's one. And the trustees right on cue said, oh, that's going to ruin our fundraising.

5:35Michael Popok:Not so, says the Washington Post. That's actually the thing that's killing your fundraising is the threat to put his name on the building. He also said that they need to do a proper prudent evaluation to try to keep that building open with programming, which is also a congressional mandate. Now they're coming in and saying we might have to go bankrupt. You know, we budgeted bringing in$220 million. We only brought in$120 million. Well, no shit. You're bringing in half because who you got performing there? Lee Greenwood? Is he your artist in residence? It's only MAGA, MAGA, MAGA who want to perform there.

6:15Michael Popok:Anybody else wouldn't touch that place with a 10-foot pole because of the close association with Donald Trump. He just stayed out of it like he did in the first term and just let it run its course. They'd have the programming, they'd have the awards, they'd have the art ceremony, and everybody would, you know, the place would be fine. But no, Donald Trump had to corrupt it, capture it, kidnap it and hijack it and make it his own. And now it didn't go his way. Oh, look, we have a major financial deficit. We might have to declare bankruptcy. I'm not sure, by the way, under the organic statute setting up the Kennedy Center, they're allowed to go bankrupt.

6:56Michael Popok:I'm not sure they're allowed to go bankrupt. I think Congress needs to fund the Kennedy Center and take it away from the death grip and death spiral that's been created by Donald Trump and those on the board around him. And Chris Cooper needs to, for at least for now, for a year, put in a receiver to run the Kennedy Center to give him an objective evaluation of what is the financial condition and why, what is the physical condition, you know, the physical plant condition and why, and recommendations on how to go get money from Congress to fix it. If they don't have an endowment, which is hard to believe these days, that can perpetuate the eternal performing arts center, it is Congress that controls it.

7:48Michael Popok:It's Congress that set it up. And for Donald Trump to say, well, let's just tear it down. He said a month ago, we'll tear it down and put up a cheap amphitheater. I was like, are you kidding me? Tear down the Kennedy Center? We tear down the Supreme Court. Well, he tore down a third of the White House. Shouldn't come as any surprise. Here's a clip of Representative Joyce Beattie, the only person with a conscience, apparently, on the entire Kennedy board, filled with sycophants and bootlickers for Donald Trump. Here's what Representative Beattie had to say about all this. I mean, come on, this is the President of the United States saying, if I don't get my way, doing something unlawful, then I'm just going to come in and tear it down and make it some arena venue.

8:32We've seen what he's done in the most embarrassing ways to the White House. So that's another reason that we will continue to fight because the American people are on our side. They're asking us to stand up and to fight for justice.

8:49Michael Popok:Okay. A lot of things I'm watching for you. Tuesday, there is a big special meeting of the Board of Trustees. And part of the agenda package that's been obtained by the Washington Post has a resolution in there that says the following, quote, the board understands that without appropriate recognition for Trump, it's unlikely that President Trump will provide the fundamental oversight of the renovation of the main building and lead the fiscal rescue of the center. So unless he gets his name on it, he's not going to step forward and help it. Shouldn't come as any surprise. Look who he put in charge of running around the day-to-day operations and be his eyes and ears and the president's representative related to the Kennedy Center.

9:37Michael Popok:None other than Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. What could go wrong? Here's a clip. Does the administration have the authority to tear down the Kennedy Center if that's what it decides needs to be done? I have no idea. That is not, you know, these are board decisions, right? How the building does from a safety standard will be up to the building. Right now, we expect the board has voted, voted overwhelmingly to keep the reach open and close the main building and let Donald Trump restore it. So that has been done by this board. So unless this judge blocks it and sort of creates a harrowing decision for the Kennedy Center, right?

10:21That's what's going to happen. This building is going to close and President Trump's going to renovate it. And if you want him to renovate it and you want him to endow it, and the endowment is the key because the Congress can't give money for its operating losses. And this building has lost a hundred million dollars a year. This business has lost a hundred million. No one thinks the Kennedy Center is like a profit making enterprise, right? You have the unbelievable asset of the National Symphony Orchestra, right? The NSO is amazing, but it loses money every year, okay? Because you can't have like the world's great, right?

10:57Symphony Orchestra and expect it that it's making money. So who's going to put up that money? Congress does not write operating checks. So President Trump has said, I will endow this center. So it is extraordinary forever.

11:11Michael Popok:So we're going to continue to follow it. Chris Cooper, federal judge, 10 a.m. tomorrow hearing. I'll report on it. You're here on Legal AF YouTube channel. Hit the free subscribe button. Come over to Legal AF Substack and hit the subscribe button there as well. We're about exactly four days away from our two-year birthday. 1.23 million subscribers strong in that period of time. Over 805 million views of our work. It's all because of you and I thank you for it. Until my next report, this is Michael Popak.

12:00Michael Popok:You'll find the court filing and the oral argument there, including a daily roundup that I do call. Wait for it. Morning AF. What else? All the other contributors from Legal AF are there as well. We got some new reporting. We got interviews. We got ad free versions of the podcast and hot takes where Legal AF on Substack. Come over now to free subscribe.