AFP photo shows Trump examining image of apparent Kennedy Center razing

An AFP photo of Donald Trump examining a depiction of Washington's Kennedy Center apparently being demolished sparked widespread attention Thursday after the president threatened to tear down the revered arts venue because he has been blocked from renaming it after himself.

In the image captured by AFP photographer Brendan Smialowski late Wednesday at Joint Base Andrews, the Republican leader was seen through the windows of Air Force One holding a placard with visible text in red declaring: "Kennedy Center DEMOLIS..."

The rest of the word was obscured by the plane's window frame but Trump has mused repeatedly about razing the Washington center.

Below the words is a large picture showing a yellow heavy construction vehicle scooping rubble from a torn-down building.

Smialowski, who was photographing Trump's return to Washington from a rally in North Carolina, said he was watching carefully as the president appeared to be sitting in a different seat than usual.

"It's an interesting photo," said Smialowski, who has covered the White House for 20 years. "The Kennedy Center's in the news right now, and their future is in the news."

The AFP images were viewed millions of times on social media and made headlines in many US news outlets.

They were also included as evidence in a court filing Thursday by Joyce Beatty, a Democratic Ohio congresswoman and Kennedy Center board member who is challenging Trump's overhaul of the institution.

With his approval ratings in the low 30 percent range amid discontent over the war against Iran and the rising cost of living, Trump has fixated on getting the Kennedy Center renamed in his honor.

He threatened to flatten the venue after a judge ruled this week that his name cannot be added onto the building's exterior.

Trump said his administration planned to carry out needed multi-million dollar renovations, then would have to "subsidize it for years to come."

"I think that the Trump Administration should certainly have recognition because, frankly, if we don't do that, it's going to close. It'll end up being ripped down," he said Wednesday.

Judge Christopher Cooper ordered the Kennedy Center on Thursday to provide 30 days notice of any planned structural changes "including but not limited to any 'demolition' of the Center's main building."

Trump and his handpicked Kennedy Center board members have argued that the main building, which was constructed in the 1960s, is in a state of dangerous disrepair.

"As President Trump said last night, without his intervention, the Kennedy Center will inevitably continue to decline," the White House said when asked about the AFP photo.

The facility was closed Wednesday for seven days "to assess existing safety risks," according to a Trump administration court filing on Thursday.

Trump installed himself as chairman of the center, which is named in honor of late president John F. Kennedy, a Democrat who championed civil rights before he was assassinated in 1963.

The venue's board voted in December to call it the "Trump-Kennedy" Center and installed signage with his name on it.

Judge Cooper, however, ordered Trump's name removed from the exterior and overturned the board's decision to rename the institution, saying only Congress can do so.

Workers removed Trump's name from the building in June, but scaffolding and tarps have remained ever since.

"It's a memorial to an assassinated president, and that shouldn't be tarnished by someone else putting their name on it just because they want it," Keith Chamberlin, a retired NASA engineer, said at the scene on Thursday.

The Kennedy Center takeover is one of several projects aimed at stamping Trump's brand on the US capital, including lavish gold trim in the Oval Office, a triumphal arch near the National Mall and a half-billion dollar ballroom at the White House.