Donald Trump Takes Over the Kennedy Center- Page 24

[John Adams]

Posted: 12/18/25 at 4:52pm

Please boycott both the CBS and Paramount+ broadcasts of the Kennedy Center Honors on Dec.23rd, and any additional days it's included on Paramount+. 

#notmypresident

[SteveSanders]

Posted: 12/18/25 at 5:16pm

I doubt much would come of it, but I think a case could be made that the board members are violating their Duty of Obedience, one of the three basic responsibilities of nonprofit board members.  Here is how BoardSource, the leading authority on nonprofit boards, defines it:

"The duty of obedience requires board members to comply with the applicable federal, state, and local laws, adhere to the organization’s bylaws and policies, and serve as guardians of the organization’s mission. It also includes honoring donor intent. Some states have additional requirements or different titles."

[MezzA101]

Posted: 12/18/25 at 8:00pm

Rep. Joyce Beatty disputes 'unanimous' vote on Trump-Kennedy Center renaming

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5656051-joyce-beatty-disputes-kennedy-center-vote/

Following Beatty’s post, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.), and Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) — all ex officio members of the Kennedy Center board of trustees — issued a statement panning the move.

“At today’s meeting, a sitting Member of Congress was muted, and participants were prevented from speaking — actions that reflect a troubling lack of transparency and respect for the rule of law. This whole process displays the corruption that permeates the entire Trump Administration, and as ex-officio members of the Kennedy Center Board, we will be unwavering in our commitment to holding this Administration accountable,” it said.

[joevitus]

Posted: 12/18/25 at 11:32pm

For what it's worth--and maybe it's nothing--the board can't "decide" this. Only Congress can. Whether Congress will roll over for Trump, again, or if recent rebellions suggest they are sick of being his lapdog (not because they have a conscience, it just isn't as good for their election chances, anymore) is something we will have to wait to see. 

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 12/19/25 at 12:15am

joevitus said: "For what it's worth--and maybe it's nothing--the board can't "decide" this. Only Congress can. Whether Congress will roll over for Trump, again, or if recent rebellions suggest they are sick of being his lapdog (not because they have a conscience, it just isn't as good for their election chances, anymore) is something we will have to wait to see."

Congress is less the issue here than the media. Renaming the Department of Defense the Department of War also requires an act of Congress, but the mainstream media still rolled over for that because they like Trump and find him entertaining to cover. And maybe, just maybe, he'll grant them their greatest wish and gift them a new war to cover.

[SteveSanders]

Posted: 12/19/25 at 5:16am

With a sycophant like Grenell "leading" the Kennedy Center, I imagine new signage and other embellishments honoring Trump are likely regardless of any Congressional action.

[John Adams]

Posted: 12/19/25 at 6:41am

KevinKlawitter said: "Congress is less the issue here than the media. Renaming the Department of Defense the Department of War also requires an act of Congress, but the mainstream media still rolled over for that"

I (thankfully) haven't found that to be the case. I very rarely read, or hear the phrase "Dept. of War" in print, or over the air. When I do hear it, it comes from the mouth of a political loyalist.

Neither do I ever read or hear the title, Gulf of Mexico mislabeled.

 

[Zeppie2022]

Posted: 12/19/25 at 9:33am

"Congress is less the issue here than the media. Renaming the Department of Defense the Department of War also requires an act of Congress, but the mainstream media still rolled over for that because they like Trump and find him entertaining to cover."

Really did not know the NY Times, ABC, NBC, CBS etc. like Trump -lol

[MezzA101]

Posted: 12/19/25 at 11:21am

Trump Administration Live Updates: Kennedy Center Adds Trump’s Name to Facade

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/12/19/us/trump-news?unlocked_article_code=1.908.BGzn.2Z4wgZX9-dXW&smid=nytcore-android-shar

[James885]

Posted: 12/19/25 at 12:48pm

Vile and repugnant. It’s of course illegal, but he knows Congress isn’t gonna stop him. 
 

He can well put his name in big letters over Kennedy’s and pretend all he wants that he ‘saved’ the center. I’m sure somewhere in the recesses of his mind he must know that his name will be ripped off the building probably within hours of the next President taking office.

[MezzA101]

Posted: 12/21/25 at 3:13pm

Artist to Pull Kennedy Center Show Over Trump Rename

https://www.thedailybeast.com/artist-to-pull-kennedy-center-show-over-trump-rename/

[John Adams]

Posted: 12/21/25 at 4:24pm

James885 said: "Vile and repugnant. It’s of course illegal, but he knows Congress isn’t gonna stop him."

It's in the works for January when Congress resumes.

Senator vows amendment to remove Trump’s name from Kennedy Center

#notmypresident

Updated On: 12/21/25 at 04:24 PM

[Zeppie2022]

Posted: 12/22/25 at 9:13am

Watching NFL game yesterday on CBS, commercial for the awards came on and it said the "Kennedy Center Awards" I think most people will follow that example and eliminate Trump's name when they mention the center or the awards show.

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 12/22/25 at 12:23pm

American College Theatre Festival suspends affiliation with Kennedy Center

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 12/22/25 at 12:32pm

This is all so pathetic. He is such a loser.

[MezzA101]

Posted: 12/24/25 at 7:35am

On CBS, it was still the Kennedy Center Honors

https://wapo.st/4b0tZD6  (gift link)

[John Adams]

Posted: 12/24/25 at 8:54am

The viewership ratings are currently being incorrectly reported by AI. The IMdB source listed reflects the ratings from 2022 as reported by Variety.

As I had hoped, there was a boycott of the telecast as reported by msn, but the article does not include up-to-date viewership data.

The AI prediction for viewership ratings is "The 2025 Kennedy Center Honors broadcast, hosted by Donald Trump, is expected to have a significant impact on viewership, with predictions suggesting it could exceed 4.5 million viewers".

The highest ratings were in 2022 when Biden was president (5.34 million viewers).

#notmypresident

Updated On: 12/24/25 at 08:54 AM

[John Adams]

Posted: 12/24/25 at 11:11am

Critics want Trump to follow through on his 'really good' Kennedy Center Honors pitch

Yesterday Trump posted  this:



Today, social media is responding:

    •    one user on X who advised him not to “threaten us with a good time.”
    •    “You had me at "leave the Presidency””
    •    “Yes. Just Truman Show this jacksss to get him out of our lives.”
    •    “Just build him a fake set like the Seinfeld episode where Kramer gets the Merv Griffin set out of the dumpster and puts it in his apartment and starts "hosting" a fake show”
    •    "OMG: WHO’S STOPPING YOU????"
    •    "Without question, the greatest Master of Ceremonies in the history of the world and universe and time. Everyone is saying. Absolutely do it full time."
    •    "Move him over to the plodding, forced, and thoroughly unfunny Hollywood Squares reboot. Everyone wins! "
    •    "Have never smashed a "yes" button faster or more enthusiastically"
    •    "Those files got him contemplating retirement"

#notmypresident

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 12/24/25 at 11:49am

Probably a pretty good sign that I only saw a total of three or four social media posts regarding the Kennedy Center ceremony last night, only one of which indicated the person was actively viewing it.

People don't even want to hate-watch this crap.

[MezzA101]

Posted: 12/24/25 at 2:27pm

Last Night's Kennedy Center Honors Ratings May Be Lowest Ever, Half as Much as Last Year with Around 3 Million Viewers

https://www.showbiz411.com/2025/12/24/report-last-nights-kennedy-center-honors-may-be-lowest-ever-half-as-much-as-last-year-with-around-3-million-viewers

[John Adams]

Posted: 12/24/25 at 8:47pm

MezzA101 said: "Last Night's Kennedy Center Honors Ratings May Be Lowest Ever, Half as Much as Last Year with Around 3 Million Viewers"

[Auggie27]

Posted: 12/24/25 at 9:32pm

Christmas Eve Jazz Concert Canceled. "When I saw the name change on the Kennedy Center website and then hours later on the building, I chose to cancel our concert,” Redd told The Associated Press in an email Wednesday. Redd, a drummer and vibraphone player who has toured with everyone from Dizzy Gillespie to Ray Brown, has been presiding over holiday Jazz Jams at the Kennedy Center since 2006. As to the illegality of what occurred: The law explicitly prohibits the board of trustees from making the center into a memorial to anyone else, and from putting another person’s name on the building’s exterior.

20 U.S. Code § 76j - Duties of Board

"...No change in the management and operation of the grounds may be made without the express approval of Congress and of the Secretary of the Interior..."

"...the Board shall assure that after December 2, 1983, no additional memorials or plaques in the nature of memorials shall be designated or installed in the public areas of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts..."



https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/kennedy-center-christmas-eve-jazz-concert-canceled-trump-name-added-rcna250894?fbclid=IwY2xjawO5gZRleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEe3ovOhCzC2VwMAbzc3fccl1FpB4UpKQ8-Kd2NZQy4IN-kgF7cdf0Cmhp4Rv0_aem_lCqT6V68p37PwLngOU9ETw

Updated On: 12/24/25 at 09:32 PM

[kdogg36]

Posted: 12/25/25 at 12:02am

I guess the powers that be weren't comfortable with my last comment here, which merely suggested that certain people get what they clearly deserve.

[John Adams]

Posted: 12/25/25 at 6:19am

Auggie27 said: "Christmas Eve Jazz Concert Canceled. "When I saw the name change on the Kennedy Center website and then hours later on the building, I chose to cancel our concert,” Redd told The Associated Press in an email Wednesday."

I sort of "get" that our government works slowly, but the Kennedy Center is a national memorial and cultural center that has been vandalized.

Where were the D.C. police as this was happening? Why weren't those workers arrested on the spot? Did any citizen of D.C that witnessed the vandalization happening in real time call for police? Why aren't the board (and Trump for that matter) in jail for instigating the damage?

I'm not necessarily a fan of anthropomorphizing inanimate objects, but the biggest victim of this crime is the Kennedy Center and its reputation. It is undeservedly being shunned and ostracized.

Its purpose to serve both as a cultural center for the American people, and to memorialize one, specifically designated president has been corrupted.

If that isn't vandalism, I don't know what is.

Wouldn't it be great if somehow, just like Al Capone, Trump were brought down by a simple, underestimated crime like tax evasion... or vandalism?

 

[Copeman63]

Posted: 12/25/25 at 6:24am

I gotta say….

 

I absolutely LOVE that none of us are talking about the show and instead are doing the usual BroadwayWorld bickering. 
 

the hostess with the not-mostess really dropped the ball!