Trump renaming fiasco fuels jokes as Maher takes Kennedy Center’s Mark Twain prize

Outside the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts , a giant tarpaulin remained in place to conceal Donald Trump’s humiliation. Guests entering the national arts complex on Sunday night could not see the section of its marble facade where Trump’s name was recently erased to comply with a court order. But once they sat down for the Mark Twain prize for American humor ceremony, there was no hiding place as performers delivered punchlines at the expense of a US president whose power appears to be waning, at least in this corner of Washington DC. Paying tribute to this year’s recipient, the comedian Bill Maher , the actor Woody Harrelson said: “Finally, an award for my dear friend – ironically at the Trump Kennedy Center. No, all right, we fixed that.” The actor Woody Harrelson at the ceremony, flanked by his wife, Laura Louie, and the TV personality Stephen A Smith. Photograph: Nathan Posner/Shutterstock The audience erupted in applause. Then, apparently acknowledging the tarp-coated scaffolding, Harrelson added: “Not as though you’d be able to notice.” Trump seized control of the Kennedy Center last year, installing himself as its chair. His handpicked board voted to rename it the Trump Kennedy Center and affix his name to the wall. But last month, a judge ruled that the addition of Trump’s name to the building was illegal and ordered that the 18 letters be removed. …