Trump elected chairman of Kennedy Center, replaces board with loyalists
President Trump elected Kennedy Center chair
Less than a week after announcing his intention to take over the role, President Donald Trump was elected chairman of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday.
WASHINGTON - Less than a week after announcing his intention to take over the role, President Donald Trump was elected chairman of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees had unanimously selected him for the position.
"It is a Great Honor to be Chairman of The Kennedy Center, especially with this amazing Board of Trustees. We will make The Kennedy Center a very special and exciting place!" Trump wrote.
The leadership shake-up follows Trump’s decision to remove multiple members of the board, including Chairman David M. Rubenstein, a billionaire investor and philanthropist who had served in the role since 2010.
Rubenstein, co-founder of the Carlyle Group and a major donor to arts and cultural institutions, was among those dismissed as Trump moved to reshape the institution.
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Trump moves to reshape Kennedy Center, vows to end drag shows
President Donald Trump announced his plans to remove multiple members of the Kennedy Center’s Board of Trustees Friday, including Chairman David M. Rubenstein.
Deborah F. Rutter, the Kennedy Center’s president since 2014, was terminated, according to a press release from the center.
The board has appointed former U.S. ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell as the center’s interim executive director. The Washington Post reported that Grenell visited the Kennedy Center on Wednesday.
Exterior of the Kennedy Center on the Potomac River, Washington, D.C., undated. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
The revised list of board members published Wednesday reflected a significant shift in leadership. Previously, the board had been divided between Biden and Trump appointees.
Trump has been vocal about his vision for the Kennedy Center, using a Truth Social post to criticize past programming, particularly drag performances hosted at the venue.
"At my direction, we are going to make the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., GREAT AGAIN," Trump wrote. "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."
He added that the Kennedy Center "must reflect the brightest STARS on its stage from all across our Nation" and that "THE BEST IS YET TO COME!"
Who are the new members of the Kenendy Center's Board of Trustees?
Officers
- President Donald J. Trump, Chair
- Shonda L. Rhimes, Treasurer
- Aswathi Zachariah, General Counsel
Members Appointed by the President of the United States
- Brian D. Ballard
- Dana Blumberg
- Pamela Bondi
- Mary Helen Bowers
- Hannah F. Buchan
- Robert Castellani
- Elaine Chao
- Pamella Roland DeVos
- Patricia Duggan
- John Falconetti
- Emilia May Fanjul
- Jennifer Fischer
- Lynette Friess
- Sergio Gor
- Pamela Gross
- Lee Greenwood
- Kate Adamson Haselwood
- Michele Kessler
- Mindy Levine
- Allison Lutnick
- Douglas Manchester
- Catherine B. Reynolds
- Denise Saul
- Dan Scavino
- President Donald J. Trump
- Usha Vance
- Susie Wiles
- Andrea Wynn
- Paolo Zampolli