Politics Weekly America Trump dismantles the arts and tries to rewrite history
10 snips
Feb 13, 2026 
David Smith, The Guardian’s Washington bureau chief who reports on US politics, unpacks how Trump is reshaping culture and memory. He describes name-changing of landmarks and board takeovers. He outlines reviews of museums and monuments and the sidelining of LGBTQ+ and racial narratives. He situates these moves as part of a bid for a lasting, sanitized legacy.
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Kennedy Center As A Cultural Marker
- The Kennedy Center is a national cultural landmark that symbolized Washington's own artistic identity beyond New York's dominance.
- David Smith says Trump physically stamping his name there makes his cultural influence literal and unprecedented.
Unprecedented Self-Naming Of Public Sites
- Naming federal landmarks after a sitting president is highly unusual and historically unprecedented in modern US practice.
- Smith compares Trump's moves to authoritarian leaders who emblazon their names on public monuments.
Contrast Between Two Kennedy Center Leaders
- David Smith recounts an exchange with the Kennedy Center's new president that felt bombastic and rude compared with his predecessor.
- He contrasts Deborah Rutter's gracious red-carpet demeanour with the new appointee's confrontational style.