‘Most Credible Person in the World’: Lutnick Says Trump’s Fundraising Justifies His Name on Kennedy Center

(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters on Thursday that President Donald Trump is the “most credible person in the world” while arguing that the Kennedy Center should bear his name because he’s vowed to raise the funds to renovate it.

The presser took place outside an emergency court hearing about adding the president’s name to the institution. Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH) is seeking to block the Trump-chaired board from again doing so after a federal judge ruled in May that only Congress can rename the institution. In filings ahead of Thursday’s hearing, Justice Department lawyers argued that blocking the board’s proposed two-year, at least $250 million renovation could ultimately leave the building so unsafe and decrepit that it would have to be demolished.

While the board has agreed not to restore Trump’s name before Sept. 8, Lutnick explained on Thursday that the latest proposal would keep the institution’s official name intact while adding language crediting Trump with its renovation and restoration. He argued that Trump deserved the recognition because he could raise the hundreds of millions of dollars needed for the project, saying other members of the Kennedy Center board could not do the same.

Yet according to Tuesday reporting from The Washington Post, “ticket sales and fundraising collapsed” after the president’s name was first added to the building, “even as the center’s leaders publicly touted a financial turnaround.”

On Thursday, CBS News’ Nancy Cordes asked Lutnick, “Why not [put the president’s name up] in two years after the renovation is done? Isn’t that usually how it works?”

The commerce secretary responded:

Actually, it’s not usually how it works. The idea — when you have the greatest philanthropist, the guy’s gonna raise you $500 million, you just need him to agree. And whatever the terms are, since you know he’s the most credible person in the world, when he says, “I’m going to raise the money,” you know he’s gonna raise the money.

You need to induce him, entice him, get him to agree to wear it and do it, and the board has made that decision. It’s a prudent decision for the board. I listened to the board discuss it. It is very, very prudent. If they said, “Well, maybe I’ll do it later,” right? Well, maybe he’ll raise the money later. That’s not the way it works.

You make an agreement. If you could shake hands with President Donald J. Trump to raise you $500 million, and your inducement to him, the board’s inducing him, saying, “I’ll acknowledge you if you raise me the money. Commit to raise me the money, and I’ll acknowledge you.”

If he commits to raise the money, I’d acknowledge him. I’d do it in a minute. How much do letters cost, right? And if he didn’t do it, you could always take the letters down. He’s going to do it. He’s the president of the United States. He delivers every time he says it.

Watch above via CBS News.

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