The Kennedy Center is Washington’s premier performing arts center, and its board includes several cultural and political elites.
WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump on Feb. 7 said he will fire the chairman and multiple trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., and name himself as the board’s new chairman.
The Kennedy Center, opened in 1971, is the principal venue for performing arts in Washington. Every year, it hosts the Kennedy Center Honors, which recognize lifetime contributions to American culture and are among the most prestigious performing arts awards in the United States. The center is governed by a Board of Trustees, which comprises both appointees of the President of the United States and several ex-officio members designed by Act of Congress, such as Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), and Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, among others.
On Feb. 7, Trump announced in a post on TruthSocial that he was dismissing the chairman, David Mark Rubenstein, and other presidentially appointed members of the board—stating that a new board of trustees, with himself as the chairman, would soon be announced.
“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,” wrote Trump. “We will soon announce a new Board, with an amazing Chairman, DONALD J. TRUMP!”
Trump accused the board of reproachable conduct by allegedly permitting lurid performances at the Kennedy Center. “Just last year, the Kennedy Center featured Drag Shows specifically targeting our youth — THIS WILL STOP,” he wrote. “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!”
Rubenstein, the dismissed chairman, is a billionaire who is the co-chairman of The Carlyle Group, a private equity firm, and owner of the Baltimore Orioles, a Major League Baseball team. Rubenstein is one of Washington’s most well-connected men and biggest philanthropists, who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Joe Biden shortly before Biden left office this year. Apart from the Kennedy Center, Rubenstein chairs the University of Chicago’s Board of Trustees, and the Council on Foreign Relations‘ board of directors, and is president of the Alfalfa Club, a private and exclusive group of high-ranking politicians and business leaders.
Trump and Rubenstein have previously had close relations. In 2014, Rubenstein—who also chairs the Economic Club of Washington, D.C.—interviewed Trump before he announced his candidacy for president in the 2016 election. During the interview, Trump signaled his intention to run.
It remains unclear who Trump has terminated from the board, and who he will appoint in lieu. Before Trump’s post, the board’s presidential appointees already included several Democratic and Republican members as well as Trump allies. Attorney General Pamela Bondi, singer and “God Bless the U.S.A.” songwriter Lee Greenwood, former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao—the wife of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)—and Mike Donilon, who is one of Biden’s longtime political advisers, are some notable members.
The Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to a request for comment.