A South Park writer quietly bought up domain names tied to the Kennedy Center’s controversial new name months before the board officially voted to rename the building.
The Kennedy Center board voted in mid-December to rename the building “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.” Comedian and South Park writer Toby Morton saw the future of The Kennedy Center much earlier, however.
He chose to stage a rebellion by buying up web domains associated with its eventual new name back in August. The comedian quietly bought the web domains trumpkennedycenter.org and trumpkennedycenter.com nearly half a year before the name change was on people’s radars.
A prophetic domain purchase
“As soon as Trump began gutting the Kennedy Center board earlier this year, I thought, ‘Yep, that name’s going on the building,’” Morton said in an email interview with the Washington Post.
He followed the board purge closely, including Trump replacing members with loyalists and announcing plans to personally host the Kennedy Center Honors. By August, Morton registered both domains. He wrote, “The rest followed on schedule.”
While many people buy domains hoping to flip them for profit, Morton took a different approach. He builds satirical websites meant to look legitimate at first glance.
Morton already runs about 50 such sites. For example, NancyMace26.com opens like a standard campaign page before pivoting to biting parody. In the “About Me” section, Morton wrote, “Hi, I’m Nancy Mace, your favorite Bible-thumping, trans-bashing, rent-reimbursing rage muppet from South Carolina’s 1st District running for Governor. I turn trauma into airtime, slurs into soundbites, and taxpayer dollars into rent checks.” He also runs a fake MAGA dating site and a page called ResignChuck.com aimed at Sen. Chuck Schumer.
Plans for the domain names aren’t decided yet
For now, Morton kept his plans for the Trump-Kennedy Center sites vague, and currently, they both divert to a generic landing page. He said, “It’ll absolutely reflect the absurdity of the moment. Some things are truly hard to parody, though.” He added that no one from Trump’s circle had contacted him, nor had anyone tried to buy the domains. Morton had only heard from “a few random lawyers confidently explaining that satire is illegal now.”
“I’ve received a large number of messages from creatives, writers, designers, and performers offering to contribute and help elevate what comes next,” he told USA Today. “That enthusiasm is shaping the direction of the upcoming site, which will focus squarely on Trump’s narcissism, branding impulses, and the broader cultural implications of attaching his name to institutions that were meant to be civic, not personal.”
X user @macandcorn tweeted about the domain squatting, “mid-2000’s shitposting is so back.”
“Imagine for a moment how deplorable someone has to be, to steal the top name on a Memorial Building,” @JaybayMcC added. “JFK earned it with the ultimate sacrifice.. Donald is a thief.”
@El_Daverino pointed out that Morton was “Another liberal comedian that understood the predictability of Trump’s narcissism.”
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