Shortened to the “Kennedy Center”, it is officially the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, sitting majestically on the Potomac. It opened in 1971 to honor the late President for his and Mrs. Kennedy’s great passion for the visual and performing arts. It contains commissioned works of art, a gallery of flags from around the world, and wonderful performing venues. It is home to the National Symphony Orchestra and the Washington National Opera. In short, it’s the United States’ cultural home and showplace.
Known to most Americans for its yearly “Kennedy Center Honors”, there is an annual gala ceremony honoring outstanding contributors to the arts community – musical performers, composers, visual artists, writers, actors, dancers and choreographers, film and television creators, and this year, even a culturally iconic venue, New York’s Apollo Theater. In addition, the Kennedy Center awards the Mark Twain Prize in American Humor, presented each year to a noted humorist or comedian. The 2025 recipient is Conan O’Brien, who received his award at a ceremony there in late March, and will be broadcast later this year.
It’s important to understand that the Kennedy Center’s operating budget is only marginally supported by the federal government, as in the taxpayer, making its recent political takeover that much more controversial. The Kennedy Center only gets federal funding for upkeep of the building, as do other national “monuments”, roughly 15% of its yearly budget. Performances and performers are paid for by ticket sales, space rentals, and private donations, and approved by its heretofore non-partisan Board of Trustees.
In the wake of Mr. Trump’s “hostile” takeover of the Kennedy Center, in which he purged 18 members of the board, appointed by previous presidents, he named his own new ones, including Vice President Vance’s wife, Usha. Interestingly, the Vice President and his wife attended a performance there a few weeks back, and were roundly booed by the audience. The new board is his inner circle, and they promptly elected him chair. Since the takeover, ticket sales, have plummeted by more than half, including a significant number of cancellations from long-time ticket holders. A number of prominent presenters have cancelled their scheduled events there as well, including award-winning singer Rhiannon Giddens, actor/writer Issa Rae, author Louise Penny, and the rock band, Low Cut Connie. Cancelled by the Kennedy Center’s new board was a performance of the DC Gay Men’s Chorus, set to perform alongside the National Symphony in May. Also cancelled by the Center was the highly successful children’s musical, “Finn”. “Finn” premiered at the Kennedy Center in 2024 to rave reviews, but its tour was canceled shortly after President Donald Trump’s self-appointed leadership of the arts center. (USA Today; 2/25) That show will be moving to a venue in New York.
Mr. Trump’s relationship with the arts is strained. He’s never been embraced the arts community as he feels he should be, and by his own admission, he’s never actually attended any performances at the Kennedy Center. He does state, however, that he “gets (second hand) reports.” What that means, and from whom is rather clouded. The arts have traditionally been a haven for underrepresented and marginalized segments of society, because they have been some of the earliest and fiercest advocates for, and defenders of diversity and inclusion, neither of which the president favors. The President has indicated his intention to remove the “woke crowd” from the Kennedy Center, and usher in a “Golden Age of Arts and Culture.” “ . . . Trump, who has shown little interest in, or knowledge of the arts before, has indicated that he wants to be more than an advocate or patron; he apparently wants a veto over content at one of the country’s preeminent cultural institutions.” (Washington Post; 2/2025)
Many celebrities took to social media to express anger and frustration with his second inaugural. There are celebrities obviously on both sides of Mr. Trump’s words and actions, but a Pew Research study, conducted a few years ago, found that a significantly large majority of those involved in the arts, as both producers or consumers, tend to be more liberal and politically left-leaning. It has been reported that, at both Trump inaugurals, celebrity performers were hard to come by. Back in 2017, Kennedy Center honorees refused to attend the traditional White House pre-ceremony reception, and in consequence, the Presidential Box remained dark at the gala ceremonies. If comments made by presenters and recipients at the recent Grammy Awards this year are indicators, the upcoming Oscars should be interesting.
From time to time, there have been efforts to curtail artistic expression. “In 1988, angered over government support of art he considered “blasphemous and pornographic”, Senator Jesse Helms proposed a set of strict new funding constraints for the National Endowment for the Arts, (NEA)”. (Washington University Law Review). New works of art, including literature, are often outside the cultural norm, sometimes provoking dismay and, on occasion outrage, but from that should flow discussion rather than censorship. Over time, they become accepted and, from time to time, iconic.
As another part of what appears to be an ongoing assault on our culture and history, the president’s latest targets are the Smithsonian Museums. Having constructed impressive museums telling the stories of African and Native Americans, the Smithsonian’s long-range goals included more representations – for Women and Latinos. So, in steps Mr. Trump to rewrite and severely edit history, because we all know that minorities have had it “too good” for too long. “On March 27, President Donald Trump issued the executive order “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” which accused the Smithsonian of “replacing objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth.” Mr. Trump, as we all know, has been a stickler for the truth, and he cannot not abide a “distorted narrative”.
Our family has been to the Kennedy Center on a number of occasions while our daughter went to school and worked in DC, and I have a collection of small sculptures, given to me by her from its gift shop. My high school band had dinner there when they went to march in the Memorial Day Parade a few years bac. The Kennedy Center is a national treasure, in a category with the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, and Arlington National Cemetery. Americans would, and rightly should, take serious issue with any tampering with those. Mr. Trump got into hot water with the National Park Service last year, when he held a “photo op” campaign event at Arlington Cemetery, which is against the rules, but then again, when has Donald Trump ever respected laws, rules, or traditions? So, too, should there be anger and resistance with his takeover of the Kennedy Center. We’ll be waiting to see if the “Kennedy Center Honors” goes forward into 2025, and if it does, who the honorees will be. More than likely, depth and diversity will be in the back seat, if not in the trunk. Some damage has already been done, and will be further. Non-political entities like the Kennedy Center, which has operated since its opening without political influence or interference, may not be able to bounce back as quickly, or may return with a less highly regarded reputation for its programming excellence and diversity, and for its artistic integrity.
I'm Thinking...No! 