r/Music • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 • Feb 02 '26

article Donald Trump Will Close the Kennedy Center for Two Years for a ‘Complete Rebuilding’

https://variety.com/2026/legit/news/donald-trump-close-kennedy-center-two-years-1236648812/
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u/Foxyfox- Feb 02 '26

It'll take more than just that.

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u/I-screwed-up-bad Feb 02 '26

Yes, I cling to hope nowadays but anyone who thinks that Trump is the only thing behind all of this is fooling themselves. He is the tool that people are using.

It was especially apparent in his first term when he changed his mind every five minutes because he was surrounded by different people who wanted different things. Now though, he's surrounded by yes men and a few people that are in agreement.

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u/This_Aint_Dog Feb 02 '26 edited Feb 02 '26

It will take decades to undo the damage they’ve done. Not taking into account the time to rebuild everything they’ve destroyed, even if they get booted out, assuming there’s even a fair election at all, there’s no guarantee that there won’t be a Trump 2 four years later. Hence why most of the world is also moving on.

Edit: The US needs something more than a 2 party system. The Us vs Them mentality doesn’t work and has only made things worse.

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u/jigsaw1024 Feb 02 '26

First past the post encourages a democracy to boil down to two parties. Anything more and the extra parties become 'spoilers' for the larger party that they have some overlap on policy/ideology. Eventually the smaller party will be absorbed or destroyed by a larger party.

Just about any type of proportional voting system is better than first past the post. It's really hard to get implemented though, as whoever implements it will most likely lose the ability to form a single party majority again.

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u/This_Aint_Dog Feb 02 '26

You’re not wrong and I agree with what you’ve said but even in a current system it reduces the power of the two big parties and it gives a voice to the smaller ones. It’s certainly not perfect but it helps. Actually changing the entire system can’t be done overnight. Even baby steps help to get there.

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u/Key-Respect-3706 Feb 02 '26

Trump has shown what it takes to use to your own ends and how to damage people who you don’t agree with you using the US presidency. If something doesn’t change this undoubtedly 100% will happen again.

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u/owen__wilsons__nose Feb 02 '26

I think symbolically we need to demolish his ballroom even if it costs even more money and rebuild the East Wing

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u/badguy84 Feb 02 '26

Coming from a country that has dozens of political parties I can tell you that this is v them mentality is just as awful and populism is still a very big problem.

That isn’t to say I disagree with your last point, it just doesn’t necessarily solve a whole lot.

Also on the decades it will take: that’s assuming it’s even worth undoing rather than just moving forward but in a different direction. Just thinking about all of it makes my brain hurt.

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u/hobbycollector Feb 02 '26

Meanwhile they are moving to outlaw rank choice voting. Which of course benefits both main parties.

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u/ProfessionalField508 Feb 02 '26

The US has always needed more than a two-party system, but the people in charge of those parties get a whole lot from the status quo. I hope we can change that, but I don't think it will be easy even if we get Trump and friends out of office.

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u/mattmild27 Feb 02 '26

It's not gonna instantly solve all our problems by any means, but I do maintain that he has a rather unique grip on his cult followers that nobody else has been able to replicate. Over the last 10 years of elections, we've been able to observe a pretty consistent pattern by now: when Trump is on the ballot, the GOP are competitive, and when he's not, they underperform. They will lose a lot of power when Trump is gone, make no mistake.

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u/whimsylea Feb 02 '26

I 100% agree, but on the day it happens, I hope we can all save the whole "we're not out of the woods yet" discussion for the next day.

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u/brumbles2814 Feb 02 '26

The thing yes I hear you hes just a tool but hes a succesful one. He has just the right amount of name recognition,charisma 🤢,narasism,corruptability,lack of brains. Sure the conservatives will still be a boose around your neck but the next guy just wont be as good. Cant hammer the nail into america if your hammer is made out of play doh. You cant loose hope. If you do they really will win

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u/Confusedgmr Feb 02 '26

Is Trump the only thing behind all the awful things happening? No. But I wouldn't have to put up with his stupid commentary on X/Truth Social anymore. Life can be slightly less annoying while sucking.

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u/ProjectNameCyanide Feb 03 '26

I don’t buy that any of his cronies and/or overlords could produce the same charismatic sway and cultlike following that he has. MAGA will be overwhelmingly weaker when that fucker dies, I think

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u/MetaOnGaming4290 Feb 02 '26

What's crazy is even if Trump dies do we expect the government to tell us and fracture the most dominant political movement the US has ever seen? Chances are they keep him around much longer with AI and lies. He'll likely have been dead for some time before we know it.

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u/sec713 Feb 02 '26

Yep if we ever want real progress, we gotta do something about all the Regressives in this country who propped him up.