Photo Credit: Tom / CC by 3.0
Drastic changes are happening at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. after President Trump announced he was ‘unanimously’ elected to the board.
He announced the news on his personal social network, Truth Social, stating, “It is a great honor to be chairman of the Kennedy Center, especially with this amazing board of trustees. We will make the Kennedy Center a very special and exciting place!” Trump also fired 18 Biden-appointed board members including former chairman David Rubenstein and former president Deborah Rutter.
Trump announced that Richard Grenell will be the interim executive director of the Kennedy Center. During that announcement on Truth Social, he stated, “No more drag shows or other Anti-American propaganda—only the best.” The changes introduced by the president have caused several changes surrounding the organization. Shonda Rhimes, the organization’s treasurer who was appointed by President Obama, immediately announced her resignation from the board.
“I can confirm that as of today, Shonda has resigned from the board of the Kennedy Center. We have no further comment,” confirmed a rep for Rhimes. Soprano Renée Fleming also announced that she would step down as artistic advisor to the Kennedy Center.
Ben Folds also announced he would step down as an artistic advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra because of the president’s actions. “Given the developments at the Kennedy Center, effective today I am resigning as artistic advisor to the NSO,” he writes on Instagram. “Not for me.”
The newly constituted board for the Kennedy Center now includes White House chief of staff Susie Wiles; White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino; Attorney General Pam Bondi; and Second Lady Usha Vance.
In response to the changes, Issa Rae canceled her event “An Evening with Issa Rae” to be held at the Kennedy Center. Rae said she was canceling “due to what I believe to be an infringement on the values of an institution that has faithfully celebrated artists of all backgrounds through all mediums.” Rae said tickets would be refunded for the sold-out event and apologized to those who were eager to hear from her.
The Kennedy Center hosts roughly 2,000 performances and receives 2 million visitors per year.
