Go ahead, President Donald Trump, keep the Kennedy Center closed. Don't give it money for necessary repairs. This is low-hanging fruit for Americans done with your extortion schemes. They don't have to submit to small-bore intimidation like this. They can just shrug at the demand that your name, with words of gratitude, be placed on the building's facade. To use a different metaphor, they have bigger fish to fry.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is suffering serious structural damage. Some believe the Washington cultural center can remain open while necessary repairs are made. Trump and his hand-picked Kennedy Center board say that it must stay closed while the place undergoes renovations.

The bigger holdup stems from a recent federal court decision that stops the board from inscribing the building's portico with "renovated and restored by Donald J. Trump." As Judge Christopher Cooper put it, "Defendants cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress's blessing."

Trump vows to appeal that ruling, and if he doesn't get his way, take the matter to the U.S. Supreme Court. Trump further warns that no money will be forthcoming for the necessary fixes until he gets what he wants.

When it comes to Trump's campaign of disruption, you don't always have to oppose his preferred outcome. The Kennedy Center put on performances that one may or may not agree with politically, or that didn't seem political at all.

In any case, America has hundreds of major performing-arts centers plus hundreds of streaming channels offering symphony, concerts, opera, dance and theater. The republic won't buckle if a cultural center in Washington, or elsewhere, is shuttered. This happens all the time during normal renovations.

For this reason, the Kennedy Center is an ideal place to lose a battle in service of winning a war. Real Americans should not have to submit to Trump's mob talk, his warped need for domination and craving for attention. When he forces these behavior patterns on a real war, Americans must deal with it as best they can. But if Americans are willing to lose a battle to win a larger war, this fight over naming the Kennedy Center is a good battle to lose.

Why has Trump chosen to bully a cultural center? There are several explanations. The easy one is that he is not well in the head. Another is that he regards the American experiment as a grand stage for product placement, of himself. A third is that he simply enjoys humiliating others.

But there's a fourth big reason, and it explains other seemingly goofball crusades he's gone on. Trump needs to change the subject. From what? From a mismanaged economy straining under high interest rates. From inflation made worse by his tariff tax. From a massive Federal debt now accounting for 101% of GDP. From a war with Iran that is not going well. And, oh yes, the Epstein files.

What better way to send the nation's attention into left field than by insulting our former best friends, the Canadians. That's a bigger crisis, but facilitating the closure of the Kennedy Center fits right in as a headline grabber.

Once Trump is gone, one hopes the next president will undo some of the cultural as well as diplomatic damage. An easy start would be ripping up the pavement Trump had installed in the Rose Garden where grass used to be. Take away the tables, chairs and striped umbrellas, too. The Rose Garden functions as a ceremonial space where presidents would make important announcements. It's not supposed to be a poolside lounging area.

Let's count the days.

Follow Froma Harrop on X @FromaHarrop. She can be reached at [email protected]. To find out more about Froma Harrop and read features by other Creators writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Web page at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: Craig Whitehead at Unsplash