In a further step toward consolidating power and turning America into a dictatorship, President Donald Trump has taken control of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, placing the historic institution under his direct authority.
At a Wednesday Kennedy Center Board meeting, Trump was elected chairman, replacing financier and philanthropist David M. Rubenstein. The board also terminated Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter and appointed former Trump administration official Richard Grenell as interim executive director.
“It is a Great Honor to be Chairman of The Kennedy Center, especially with this amazing Board of Trustees,” Trump posted on social media. “We will make The Kennedy Center a very special and exciting place!”
The Kennedy Center, which had long maintained a bipartisan board, is now entirely controlled by Trump and his allies. Earlier in the week, the administration removed 18 board members who President Joe Biden had appointed. The new board includes Susie Wiles, Dan Scavino, Usha Vance—wife of Vice President JD Vance—and other close Trump associates.
The move has drawn immediate backlash from the arts community. Singer-songwriter Ben Folds resigned as an artistic adviser to the National Symphony Orchestra, which the Kennedy Center oversees.
“Given developments at the Kennedy Center, effective today I am resigning as artistic adviser to the N.S.O.,” Folds wrote on Instagram. “Mostly, and above all, I will miss the musicians of our nation’s symphony orchestra—just the best!”
Rutter, who had led the Kennedy Center since 2014, issued a statement following her removal.
“The goal of the Kennedy Center has been to live up to our namesake, serving as a beacon for the world and ensuring our work reflects America,” Rutter said. “I depart my position proud of all we accomplished to meet that ambition.”
Critics have compared Trump’s takeover of the Kennedy Center to the actions of authoritarian regimes, warning that his control over cultural institutions is another step toward dismantling democratic norms.
“Trump as chairman of the Kennedy Center is like if North Korea put Kim Jong-un in charge of Coachella,” software engineer and frequent Trump critic Alex Cole posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Travel guide Jeremy Wilcox also weighed in on the president’s new control of the national arts venue.
“Donald Trump saying he was offended by shows at the Kennedy Center but then admitting right away he never actually saw any of them, is modern conservatism in a nutshell,” Wilcox wrote on X.
I was fortunate to see the the National Ballet in DC at the Kennedy Center with my GF and Jesse Helms and his wife. I was in college at the time at UNC. I saw both Nureyev and Natalia Makarova and Mikhail Baryshnikov in the Nutcracker. A memory for life. Go easy on Trump, I did not see anyone else coming to the rescue of the center. They were in debt and the art entertainment was in the toilet. Trump saved this center. At least recognize that.