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Donald Trump has joked that he might consider leaving the presidency to become the full-time host of an awards show like the Kennedy Center Honors if the online public reception to his hosting gig this year is positive.
chairman Written on Truth Social The event on Tuesday evening will celebrate the “true greats” of American culture, he said: “If it’s really good, would you like me to give up the presidency to make “hosting” a full-time job?”
Since taking office, Trump has directed the makeover of the Kennedy Center, and last week announced his latest headline-grabbing move: a plan to rename the DC Cultural Center the “Trump-Kennedy Center.” Democrats immediately protested this announcement questioned whether he has Right to do so.
Tonight’s Kennedy Center Honors, an annual gala hosted by the Memorial Foundation dedicated to honoring the 35th President of the United States, who was assassinated in 1964, will honor a handful of celebrities the president considered on his side politically: Gloria Gaynor, Sylvester Stallone and the rock band KISS, among them.
but the President Changing the name of the building has eclipsed the event The second adds to the general perception of the Kennedy Center’s status as an occupied entity among the media and among its one-time supporters under the Trump administration, who have abandoned the Center in large numbers over the course of the year. Ticket sales have fallen to their lowest level since the COVID pandemic forced Americans to stay at home, according to a Washington Post Analysis in October
The president announced his takeover of the Kennedy Center’s board earlier this year, electing him as its new chair. Since that day, the center’s programming has shifted culturally away from acts that did not want to be associated with the new board or president, including music. hamilton and a sold-out show planned by actor and comedian Issa Rae.
Trump loyalist and former ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell is now the organization’s interim president and has begun attacking artists who have decided to remove their performances from the center’s upcoming events calendar.
“Any artist who is not professional enough to perform for patrons of all backgrounds, regardless of political affiliation, will not be welcome,” Grenell said in a statement earlier this year. “In fact, we think it will be important to call out those dysfunctional and intolerant cast members to ensure that producers know who they shouldn’t hire — and that the public knows which shows have a political litmus test to sit among the audience.”
But those visitors are leaving the center at an even higher rate than its artists.
Individual shows were analyzed between late September and October Post, There was a 36 per cent decline in ticket sales or seats filled by the centre.
The new board also took the step of canceling a performance by the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC, despite the group not planning to withdraw from the program.
On Truth Social, the President has, in the past, posted about the Kennedy Center demonstration, echoing typical conservative fears and prejudices about the LGBT community. In February, he claimed that “drag shows featured at the Kennedy Center specifically targeting our youth will be shut down.”
Under the Biden administration, the Kennedy Center hosted several drag performances of a non-sexual nature, including a February 2024 event that featured a “Drag Story Hour”, a semi-popular style event where drag queens in full costume and makeup read storybooks to young children.