Since making himself the chairman of the board during his first visit to the Kennedy Center, President Trump has spoken a lot about the Broadway show, silk tights dancer, the Potomac River and Elvis Presley.
But in a private discussion at the start of the Center's board meeting on Monday, Trump provided what he would move him away in a larger than normal environment: a personal anecdote about his childhood.
He told the organized board members that he demonstrated special ability in music during adolescence after taking aptitude tests ordered by his parents.
He was able to choose a piano note, he told members of the board. However, the president said his father, Fred Trump, according to participants, was not satisfied with his musical ability and never developed his talent.
He said at one point, according to people at the conference. “Can you believe it?”
“That's why I love music,” he added.
No Trump's comments have been reported previously. They were not part of the board's audio recordings obtained by The New York Times earlier this week.
However, according to people with knowledge of the comment, this is a story he personally told of the period before his parents sent him to the New York Military Academy at the age of 13.
The anecdote was a surprise to some people in the room.
Lee Greenwood, a country singer known for “God The Usa,” confirmed in an interview that Trump highlighted his childhood connections with music at his meeting on Monday. Greenwood, appointed by Trump to the Kennedy Center's board of directors, created a version of the President and Bible. He said the two had previously discussed the president's capabilities.
“He's absolutely very creative and very artistic,” Greenwood said. “I don't doubt he has great ears for music.”
When asked about the anecdote, White House Communications Director Stephen Chong did not deal with it directly, but the president said “a master and his music choices represent a wonderful palette of vibrant colors when others often paint in pale pastels.” As president and chairman of the Kennedy Center, Chan said, “No one has any more unique qualifications to bring the country and its rich history of art back to its reputation.”
Trump has long been interested in music and theater, and once dreamed of becoming a Broadway producer. At Monday's meeting, he voted for board members, “The Phantom of Opera” or “Resi Micerable.” He recalled attending the premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber's “The Cat” in the early 1980s. And he talked about his love for singers like Broadway star Betty Buckley and musicals like “Hello, Dolly!” “Fiddler on the roof.”
“So many great shows,” he said at one point. “Lots of great shows.”
Trump has moved to expel the former board chair of the Kennedy Center, financier David M. Rubenstein, and all board members appointed by the Biden administration last month. He had told his allies for weeks that he wanted to lead the Kennedy Center. The Kennedy Center was sometimes mistakenly called the Lincoln Center, a premier arts venue in New York City's hometown.
Trump lightly paraded the current hit musical “Hamilton” when he toured the center on Monday. The producer cancelled a planned tour of the Kennedy Center next year, protesting the acquisition of a decades-old bipartisan institution. Other artists have also cancelled their engagement there.
The Kennedy Center hosted and awarded honors to performers who were critical of Trump's actions as president.
Trump's desire to influence programming at one of the leading arts centers in the United States has not surprised some of his longest service.
Trump spends hours working on playlists for his rally and blows up music on his club's iPad. Some artists have repeatedly asked him to stop using music.
Trump's advisors often discovered during his first term that music was a way to calm him down when he was furious. His planes – His private ones known as Trump Force One, and one of the presidential planes, Trump often blows up music very loudly and pulsates the cabin.
After two participants required a doctor's appointment at a campaign town hall event in Pennsylvania in October, Trump paused the event and surprised his aides by playing music to his team for more than 30 minutes. Trump stood shaking and dancing on stage while the music was playing.
During his first semester, Trump passed Spotify searching for “Tommy” and “Tommy” songs, searching for a specific song he thought he would remember during his first semester meeting with his aides via his playlist. My aides couldn't find it.
