A viral social media post claimed that White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated a petition to reinstate President Donald Trump’s name on the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts had garnered over 10 million signatures, calling it “the will of the American people” and a record-breaking federal document.
However, this claim is unsubstantiated. An investigation found no evidence of any such petition being filed or of Leavitt making these remarks. Searches for the alleged petition and statements yielded no credible results from reputable news organizations. The image accompanying the claim appears to be from a parody account, as indicated by text on the image itself stating, “Nothing on this page is real.”
The circulation of this rumor follows the actual removal of President Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center building and its website. This action was taken after a federal court issued an order mandating the removal. Workers began taking down the name from the building’s facade on Saturday, June 13, 2026, six months after it was initially added following a vote by the board of trustees to rebrand the venue.
Reference