Thanks to Pearl McElheran
As crowds gathered to watch crews dismantle President Donald Trump’s name from the exterior of the Kennedy Center on Friday evening, a massive rainbow — the universal symbol of hope after turbulent times and LGBTQ+ Pride — appeared overhead.
The rainbow was seen at around 8 p.m. on multiple livestreams waiting to capture the moment Trump’s name comes down from the building, as ordered by a court two weeks ago and reaffirmed by a judge earlier today. Scaffolding went up hours ago, but the president’s name has yet to come down.
The irony of the rainbow, which showed up 12 days into Pride Month, will certainly not be lost on critics of Trump’s changes at the performing arts center. When the president had himself installed as the Kennedy Center’s chairman last year, he proclaimed it would host “NO MORE DRAG SHOWS, OR OTHER ANTI-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA” and canceled its Pride celebrations.