A comedy writer who anticipated President Donald Trump's renaming of the Kennedy Center bought related domain names months before the official naming change.
Toby Morton, who has written for both "South Park" and "MadTV," said in August he purchased trumpkennedycenter.org and trumpkennedycenter.com after noticing changes to the Kennedy Center's board and remarks about turning the venue into a monument, The Washington Post first reported.
Trump "began gutting the Kennedy Center board earlier this year" by installing hand-picked members, he said, expecting the president to continue his pattern of placing his name on prominent institutions.
Morton, who markets himself as creating "anti-fascist" parody websites, has previously bought domain names tied to public figures for satirical purposes, including Reps. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., and Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.
Regarding the Trump Kennedy Center domains, Morton confirmed to the Post he intends to use them to spotlight, and mock, what he called the situation's "absurdity."
"I thought, yep, that name's going on the building," Morton told the Post.
Morton said the sites will "absolutely reflect the absurdity of the moment."
"The Kennedy Center has always been a cultural institution meant to outlast any one administration or personality," Morton told the outlet.
"It's meant to honor culture, not ego. Once it was treated like personal branding, satire became unavoidable," he added.
The Trump Kennedy Center's website remains kennedy-center.org, though its homepage now refers to the venue as the Trump Kennedy Center.
Officially, however, changing the name requires legal action, since Congress designated it the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 1964 after JFK's assassination.
The center continues to find itself embroiled in controversy.
Jazz drummer Chuck Redd, who has performed at the center's Christmas Eve show for nearly two decades, canceled his appearance after Trump's name was added to the building.
In response, Trump Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell, appointed by Trump, threatened legal action against Redd for the abrupt cancellation.
Trump's hands-on approach to the arts center has drawn the ire of members of Congress and the Kennedy family.
Kerry Kennedy, daughter of former Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, criticized the decision and threatened to "grab a pickaxe" to remove Trump's name from the building.
Soon after, Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, and an ex officio trustee of the Kennedy Center, filed a lawsuit following a vote by the center's board of trustees to add Trump's name to the venue.
In addition to the Kennedy Center, Trump has also said he would name a new class of warships after himself.
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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