Donald Trump Takes Over the Kennedy Center- Page 6

[Matt Rogers]

Posted: 2/12/25 at 5:52pm

MezzA101 said: "Ben Folds Resigns from Advisory Position at Kennedy Center



https://consequence.net/2025/02/ben-folds-resigns-from-advisory-position-at-kennedy-center/"

Renee Fleming also just resigned.

https://operawire.com/following-trump-takeover-renee-fleming-resigns-from-kennedy-center/

[MezzA101]

Posted: 2/12/25 at 5:53pm

Vulture: Donald Trump Takes Over Kennedy Center, Prompts Resignations

 

In a press release issued this afternoon, the Kennedy Center confirmed that its board of directors, which Trump has stacked with loyalists as part of his takeover, voted to appoint the former reality show host as its chairman, effective immediately. This is the first time a sitting U.S. president has ever served in this capacity. It is also the first time a sitting U.S. president with terrible taste and limited interest in the arts has served in this capacity. (During a press conference in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump said there would no longer be “woke” programming at the hub for theater, dance, opera, and musical performances because, “there’s no more woke in this country.”)

 

The board also fired the current president, Deborah Rutter, who had previously announced plans to step down at the end of 2025. “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,” she said in a statement released separately. “I depart my position proud of all we accomplished to meet that ambition.” The President appointed Richard Grennell, who served as acting director of national intelligence under Trump in 2020, to fill Rutter’s role. According to Propublica, Grennell, who is openly gay, also used to be a consultant to a Moldovan oligarch that the U.S. accused of corruption. Definitely the perfect person to decide whether or not to book another production of Hamilton in the Opera House.

 

High-profile talents who work closely with the Kennedy Center have already announced they are resigning, including Shonda Rhimes, who served on the board as the Kennedy Center’s treasurer; opera singer and 2023 Kennedy Center Honoree Renée Fleming, who was an artistic advisor-at-large for the center; and Ben Folds, who was a consultant to the National Symphony Orchestra, which is housed at the Kennedy Center, and frequently performed with them. “Given developments at the Kennedy Center, effective today I am resigning as an artistic advisor to the NSO,” he wrote in a statement. “Not for me.”

 

The Kennedy Center also revealed the identities of its new board members, including such artistic visionaries as Pam Bondi, Trump’s recently appointed U.S. Attorney General; Dana Blumberg, the wife of Robert Kraft, the billionaire owner of the New England Patriots; Lee Greenwood, who sings Trump’s favorite song of all time next to “Y.M.C.A.,” “God Bless the U.S.A.”; Usha Vance, wife of guy who wrote a book that Ron Howard made into a terrible movie; and Andrea Wynn, wife of Steve Wynn, the Las Vegas casino mogul who was forced to step down from his company in 2018 following accusations of sexual misconduct.

 

https://www.vulture.com/article/donald-trump-kennedy-center.html Menu

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 2/12/25 at 6:16pm

Democrats are really letting themselves be punching bags and not fighting this? This move should be resulting in lawsuits not concession posts.

You really don't know how anything works in the country. Maybe create a change.org petition like you did with The Outsiders tour? That will solve this entire thing! 

 

 

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 2/12/25 at 6:27pm

The Kennedy Center also revealed the identities of its new board members, including such artistic visionaries as Pam Bondi, Trump’s recently appointed U.S. Attorney General; Dana Blumberg, the wife of Robert Kraft, the billionaire owner of the New England Patriots; Lee Greenwood, who sings Trump’s favorite song of all time next to “Y.M.C.A.,” “God Bless the U.S.A.”; Usha Vance, wife of guy who wrote a book that Ron Howard made into a terrible movie; and Andrea Wynn, wife of Steve Wynn, the Las Vegas casino mogul who was forced to step down from his company in 2018 following accusations of sexual misconduct.

So like, the MAGA Performing Arts Center?

[James885]

Posted: 2/12/25 at 6:36pm

Call_me_jorge said: 

Democrats are really letting themselves be punching bags and not fighting this? This move should be resulting in lawsuits not concession posts."

Of all the many power grab moves the Trump / Musk administration has made over the last three weeks, I think this ranks near the bottom of the list of what Democrats should be actively fighting.

If this was a 'normal' president doing this, it would absolutely be worth raising a huge stink over. But right now Democrats have got much bigger issues to tackle.

Updated On: 2/12/25 at 06:36 PM

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 2/12/25 at 6:39pm

Sutton Ross said: "Democrats are really letting themselves be punching bags and not fighting this? This move should be resulting in lawsuits not concession posts.

You really don't know how anything works in the country. Maybe create a change.org petition like you did with The Outsiders tour? That will solve this entire thing!



"

Ah yes, the classic ‘you don’t understand how things work’ argument—because demanding accountability and using legal avenues to challenge authoritarian moves is apparently too much to ask. Instead, we should just sit back and let the third branch of government collect dust while the executive branch steamrolls over norms. But hey, thanks for the unsolicited Change.org joke, I’ll be sure to file that under ‘helpful political discourse.’

[SingingEachtoEach]

Posted: 2/12/25 at 6:43pm

I'm assuming my Parade tickets are void, but maybe I should get a refund.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 2/12/25 at 6:43pm

KevinKlawitter said: "Blaming Democrats for the awful actions of Republicans is one of the reasons we got into this mess. There's no magic bullet to stop this."

Acknowledging that Democrats have power they aren’t using isn’t ‘blaming’ them for Republican authoritarianism—it’s demanding they do more than post sad statements about it. Hakeem Jeffries himself just asked what leverage Democrats actually have, which is a pretty telling sign of how unprepared they are. The judicial branch exists for a reason, yet instead of using it to challenge Trump’s blatant overreach, we’re watching another round of ‘there’s nothing we can do’ defeatism. Republicans push boundaries because they know no one will stop them. Maybe it’s time for Democrats to prove them wrong instead of just pointing fingers and giving up.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 2/12/25 at 6:51pm

Yup, please file that and make sure to make a note the next time you're in your finance class. "Bernie Sanders is not in charge of the earth and I don't know how Government works". Just right in the margins, baby. I thought Trump University was shut down, tho?

James885 said: 

Of all the many power grab moves the Trump / Musk administration has made over the last three weeks, this ranks near the bottom of the list of what Democrats should be actively fighting.

If this was a 'normal' president doing this, sure it would absolutely be worth raising a stink over. But right now Democrats have got much bigger issues to tackle.

Correct. It's embarrassing how clueless some people can be. 

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 2/12/25 at 6:57pm

Ah, nothing like a little smugness to deflect from the actual point. No one’s arguing that this is the worst thing Trump has done, but pretending it’s insignificant is exactly why he keeps getting away with these power grabs. ‘There are bigger issues’ is the same excuse used every time Democrats let another norm get bulldozed. And Hakeem Jeffries openly admitting they don’t know what leverage they have? That’s not strategy, that’s surrender.

The third branch of government exists for a reason, and if Democrats won’t even attempt to use it to push back, what exactly is the plan? Because right now, all I see is a lot of hand-wringing and zero action.

[whatever2]

Posted: 2/12/25 at 7:17pm

i think it's a bit unfair -- and bordering on a self-fulfilling prophesy -- to say Democrats aren't doing anything. Democratic state attorneys general have sued over a number of these ridiculous EOs, and gotten temporary stays (pending fuller hearings, which is exactly how the process is supposed to work) in every case. props for that are overdue. the trick is: in order to sue, one has to have "standing" -- meaning the harm has to be direct in legal terms. just being a taxpayer, or just being a member of Congress generally isn't enough.

continuing to beat ourselves up only makes the situation worse, and contributes to the sense of impotence. what we should be asking, loud and repeatedly, is: Republican members of Congress, where are your b*lls??? 47 and Elon are making a laughing stock of your authority ...

ETA that said, i will agree that all we're getting from the central party is emails from Kamala asking for more money ... really?

Updated On: 2/12/25 at 07:17 PM