President Trump visited the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington on Monday, after shocking cultural and political establishment by taking over the facility nearly five weeks ago.
After rejecting all Biden-era appointees last month, Trump chaired the Center's board of directors, overturning the bipartisan tradition he has endured for decades. He had planned to moderate the board meeting and tour the center with the “mind of a business developer,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
“I'm sure he'll make some recommendations on how the centre itself can be improved,” Leavitt said in a news briefing Monday.
At the board meeting Monday, Trump planned to move forward with the resolution to better monitor the selection of artists and performers recognized in the annual Kennedy Center Honorary Program. The awards ceremony, an annual star-studded gala aired on CBS, is the most important fundraiser of the year.
In 2017, early in his first term, several recipients criticized Trump. He boycotted the show that year and the rest of his term, breaking tradition.
Now, after the change that is likely to be approved Monday, Trump has the authority to hire and fire committee members to help decide who will receive the honor. Since the program began in 1978, the winners have been selected without White House interference.
Prior to the president's visit, several portraits were hung on the wall of the center showing Trump. First lady, Melania Trump. Vice President J.D. V. Vance and his wife Usha Vance;
It is not clear what artists Trump wants to respect at the Kennedy Center. He has shown a sense of affinity for stars like Mel Gibson, Sylvester Stallone and John Voight, all of whom support Trump and recently appointed Hollywood ambassadors. His supporters include musicians like Kidlock and Lee Greenwood, whom Trump has appointed to the Kennedy Center board.
Since Trump took over the Kennedy Center, several prominent events have been cancelled in protests, including the music “Hamilton,” which discarded the planned tour next year.
Trump and his aides suggest that former Kennedy Center leaders left the agency in poor health and devastation.
The center, like other federal-owned properties, has postponed the maintenance of the building due to budget constraints. The center receives a mere portion of its $268 million budget (approximately $43 million, or 16%) from the federal government. That money is not spent on programming, but is allocated for the operation, maintenance and repair of the property.
The Kennedy Center board is currently comprised of more than 30 Trump's allies. Attorney General Pam Bondy. Fox News commentator Maria Bartiromo.
It remains to be seen whether Trump's team will be able to make sufficient revenue through ticket sales and private donations to keep the Kennedy Center running in its current size. The center stages more than 2,000 performances each year.
When he took over the Center last month, Trump kicked out longtime chairman, the Center's biggest donor, investor David M. Rubenstein, and fired Deborah F. Lutter, the Center's president for more than a decade.
He set up Loyalist Richard Grenell and former German ambassador Richard Grenell as president of the Centre. Grenell recently brought Donna Alduin Kauranen as Chief Financial Officer. She has played many budget and funding roles for former Republican governors, including Jeb Bush of Florida, Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, and George E. Pataki of New York.
On the prelude to Trump's appearance on Monday, Vance visited the Kennedy Center on Thursday to visit the National Symphony Orchestra, one of the center's main ensembles.
Vance was booed loudly while he was in his seat, and the video of the incident was widely circulated on social media. Grenell condemned the episode, saying: “Diversity is our strength. We need to do better. We need to welcome you. We don't allow the Kennedy Center to be an intolerant place.”
