The President has spoken on his social media:
At my direction, we are going to make the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., GREAT AGAIN. I have decided to immediately terminate multiple individuals from the Board of Trustees, including the Chairman, who do not share our Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture. We will soon announce a new Board, with an amazing Chairman, DONALD J. TRUMP! 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!
No point speculating how this might play out.
Though we should wonder whether Deborah Rutter had advance knowledge when decidiing to quit.
The dismissed chairman is financier David M. Rubenstein. His seat has been apparently occupied by President Trump.
The Kennedy Center has issued this shocked and confused response:
A Statement From the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Throughout our history, the Kennedy Center has enjoyed strong support from members of congress and their staffs—Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. Since our doors opened in1971, we have had a collaborative relationship with every presidential administration. Since that time, the Kennedy Center has had a bi-partisan board of trustees that has supported the arts in a non-partisan fashion.
While we are a living memorial to President Kennedy, we are also a unique public-private partnership. The Center is supported by federal annual appropriations for the upkeep and maintenance of the building as a federal memorial, or approximately 16% of the total operating budget. Support for the Center’s artistic programming comes from ticket sales, donations, rental income, and other revenue sources.
The Kennedy Center is aware of the post made recently by POTUS on social media. We have received no official communications from the White House regarding changes to our board of trustees. We are aware that some members of our board have received termination notices from the administration.
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.
We have no further information at this time.
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