A comedian known for his voice-over acting and writing for “South Park” purchased domain names that could’ve been used for President Donald Trump’s rebranding of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.
Last August, Toby Morton, who wrote for “South Park” from 2001 to 2003 and “Mad TV” from 2006 to 2007, bought the domain names “trumpkennedycenter.org” and “trumpkennedycenter.com” after witnessing Trump “gutting the Kennedy Center board earlier this year,” according to The Washington Post.
“I thought, ‘Yep, that name’s going on the building,’” Morton explained, adding that he buys political domains and turns them into satirical websites as a form of activism.
Throughout the year, Morton has been following the news of Trump’s renovations to the Kennedy Center which included firing all 18 board members and replacing them with loyalists.
The Washington, D.C. building’s lettering has also been changed to read “The Donald Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”
New signage, The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center For The Performing Arts, is unveiled on the Kennedy Center, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)AP
Morton did not say during his interview with The Washington Post what his plans are with the Trump-Kennedy Center websites but said it will “absolutely reflect the absurdity of the moment. Lots of surprises. Some things are truly hard to parody, though.”
Trump has received considerable backlash from critics and legal experts who state that the renaming is in violation of a 1964 law signed by President Lyndon B Johnson, who designated the institution as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Deadline reported.
On Dec. 22, U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, sued Trump seeking the removal of his name from the performing arts center.
Beatty, who serves as an ex-officio member of the institution’s board, stated that she was repeatedly muted during the virtual board meeting and prevented from casting a dissenting vote.
“The Kennedy Center has always been a cultural institution meant to outlast any one administration or personality,” Morton told the Post. “It’s meant to honor culture, not ego. Once it was treated like personal branding, satire became unavoidable.”
Nobody from the Trump Administration has contacted Morton about his Kennedy Center websites, the Post reported. However, he has received inquiries from “a few random lawyers confidently explaining that satire is illegal now.”
