On December 7th President Donald Trump took to the stage in black tie to present the 48th Kennedy Centre Honours. In the audience, people cheered and shouted “We love you!” Previous versions of the event, in which gongs are doled out to cultural luminaries, had been hosted by figures from the world of media and entertainment such as Stephen Colbert and Queen Latifah. This year Trump himself—the new chairman of the Kennedy Centre—was master of ceremonies. The award-winners included Sylvester Stallone and disco queen Gloria Gaynor; watching them traipse up the red carpet was like being transported back to the 1980s. “This is the greatest evening in the history of the Kennedy Centre,” said Trump to rousing applause.

Just two months later, the President announced on Truth Social, his social-media platform, that the Kennedy Centre would be closing for “approximately” two years for renovations. He talked of his ambition to completely rebuild the centre, which he described as “tired, broken, and dilapidated”, and turn it into a “new and spectacular Entertainment Complex”.