'Most unprofessional thing I have ever witnessed': Trump threatens to withdraw funds in row over Kennedy Center name
Trump reportedly threw a "tantrum" on a phone call with Democrat Joyce Beatty, threatening to withdraw funds after an attempt to add his name to the Kennedy Center was blocked again.
US President Donald Trump reportedly exploded into a furious rant during a telephone conversation over the Kennedy Center, reportedly threatening to withdraw funding after plans to change its' name were blocked.
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The phone conversation occurred shortly before the board voted to close down the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for essential works on Tuesday September 15.
It is understood that Mr Trump lost his temper on a phone call to the board, shouting at Democrat Joyce Beatty and telling the congresswoman she had "never built anything".
"It was the most unprofessional thing I have ever witnessed or been a part of," said the 79-year-old congresswoman.
Ms Beatty's recent legal challenge saw Trump blocked from adding his name to the Kennedy Center's exterior for the second occasion in five months.
US District Judge Christopher Cooper made the call to bar the board from displaying Trump's name on the building's facade, stating in his ruling that no name can be added to the centre without congressional approval.
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This blocked both the "renovated and restored by Donald J. Trump" on the principal structure, and well as "President Donald J. Trump Plaza" on the premises.
Ms Beatty described the interaction as a "tantrum", calling the president as "ignorant" and responsible for the Kennedy Center's financial troubles.
"He went into name-calling-everything from trying to say that I was an obstructionist, I was dumb."
Following the judgement, Trump took to social media threatening to withhold a $257 million (£190 million) refurbishment of the building unless an appellate court or the Supreme Court reverse Cooper's decision.
She said that Mr Trump told her that he would hold her responsible "if something fell out of the ceiling and killed someone".
"And I told him, I said, 'You're already killing people. We're at war.'"
The board referenced the "hazardous" circumstances at the center when voting to shut the venue on Wednesday.
Trump appointed himself chairman of the centre's board upon re-entering the White House for his second term, and revealed his plans to overhaul its programming, as well as adding his name to the property.
Mr Trump has already had his name once added – and removed – from the building in the US capital.
The Kennedy Center, which opened in 1971, serves as a memorial to the assassinated former US president John F. Kennedy, and has been home to the Washington National Opera and the National Symphony Orchestra.