Donald Trump announced that he has been elected the new chairman of the Kennedy Center, after he ousted about half of the arts organization’s board members who were appointed by Joe Biden.
Trump posted on Truth Social, “President Donald J. Trump was just unanimously elected Chairman of the Board of the prestigious Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The President stated, “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!”
The unanimous vote is not a surprise: With Trump’s purge of Biden’s board members, the body that elected Trump is made up of his appointees. They include his chief of staff Susie Wiles, longtime aide Dan Scavino and Second Lady Usha Vance, joining some of those picked in the president’s first term. Those include Lee Greenwood and lobbyist Brian Ballard.
Shonda Rhimes, who was first appointed to the Kennedy Center by President Barack Obama, is still listed as the organization’s treasurer.
Earlier today, Ben Folds, who has been serving as artistic adviser to the National Symphony Orchestra, announced that he was resigning.
Shortly after Trump’s announcement, Folds wrote on Instagram, “Given developments at the Kennedy Center, effective today I am resigning as artistic adviser to the NSO. Not for me.”
Trump has railed against what he sees as the Kennedy Center’s “woke” programming, even though this year’s line up includes pretty standard fare like Les Misérables and Riverdance 30 — The New Generation. The Kennedy Center is also scheduled to be the venue for one of the World Pride Events taking place in Washington, D.C. in June, with organizers billing it as a “celebration of diversity and unity.”
Earlier this week, Trump named Ric Grenell, a special envoy, as the interim executive director of the Kennedy Center, putting him in charge of day-to-day responsibilities. That has left some question as to the future of Deborah Rutter, the Kennedy Center president. Last month, before the purge of board members, she announced that she would be stepping down at the end of the year.
The previous chairman of the board was David Rubenstein, a philanthropist and co-founder and co-chairman of the Carlyle Group. He had announced plans to exit as chairman last year but, before Trump’s actions, had agreed to stay on through 2026.
