President Donald Trump announced Friday that he had immediately decided to fire multiple Kennedy Center board members, citing the performing arts center’s promotion of drag shows as a major cause. The president also moved to fire the center’s chairman, a role that he will be filling with himself.
As part of his plans to “make the Kennedy Center great again,” Trump announced that multiple board members, as well as chairman David Rubenstein, “do not share our vision for a Golden Age in Arts and culture,” and would be let go, according to an announcement made via Truth Social.
“Just last year, the Kennedy Center featured Drag Shows specifically targeting our youth — THIS WILL STOP. The Kennedy Center is an American Jewel, and must reflect the brightest STARS on its stage from all across our Nation. For the Kennedy Center, THE BEST IS YET TO COME!” the post concluded.
In a follow-up post, the president posted a meme depicting himself as an orchestra conductor.
Back in October, the Kennedy Center hosted a Dancing Queens Drag Brunch at its Roof Terrace restaurant, which featured Washington D.C.’s “most fabulous drag performers,” according to the center’s website. The October 2024 event was headlined by the drag performer “Tula” and other drag performers “representing the diversity of D.C.’s queer community,” the description added. Tickets were sold for nearly $100 each and included bottomless mimosas.
In June 2020, the Kennedy Center dimmed its lights for nine consecutive nights in order to honor George Floyd. The dimming represented the final nine minutes of Floyd’s life, as former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin used a chokehold that was listed in the department’s handbook to restrain him. Floyd also had a documented history of saying he couldn’t breathe while being arrested and had lethal amounts of fentanyl in his system at the time of his death.
“We take a stand for George Floyd and for so many others who have lost their lives as a result of racial violence and bigotry. Dimming the lights is a symbol. It is not the solution,” the Kennedy Center wrote in a June 2, 2020 X post.
“Ours is an expression of America’s grief and our solidarity with our Black audiences, artists, colleagues, and community. Black lives matter. Black voices matter. Black culture matters,” the post continued. “Black stories matter. We pledge that more of them will be heard on the stages of the nation’s cultural center, as we continue in our ongoing effort to reflect the entire nation through the performing arts and within our organization.”
Following Trump’s announcement, The Kennedy Center’s website was forced to limit users, citing higher than usual traffic. Hundreds of internet browsers were forced to wait in a queue in order to view the website.
In a statement later posted to the website, the Kennedy Center said it was aware of Trump’s post, though it is currently unclear which board members were let go.“We have received no official communications from the White House regarding changes to our board of trustees,” the statement said. “We are aware that some members of our board have received termination notices from the administration.”
The statement continued: “Per the Center’s governance established by Congress in 1958, the chair of the board of trustees is appointed by the Center’s board members. There is nothing in the Center’s statute that would prevent a new administration from replacing board members; however, this would be the first time such action has been taken with the Kennedy Center’s board.”
The board is typically comprised of major political power brokers and donors from both sides of the aisle. The current board features Biden’s former White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre as well as Mike Donilon, Biden’s longtime ally, and Stephanie Cutter, a former Obama adviser. The treasurer of the center’s board of trustees is television producer Shonda Rhimes, who hosted fundraisers for Biden before he suspended his re-election campaign this past July.
A number of Trump allies also sit on the board, including Attorney General Pam Bondi and country singer Lee Greenwood, whose hit single “God Bless The USA” has served as President Trump’s rally entrance music for nearly a decade.
