Trump elected chair of the Kennedy Center by newly constituted board

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is reflected in the Potomac River in Washington, in September 2022. The newly constituted board of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has elected President Donald Trump as its chairman. (J. David Ake/AP via CNN Newsource)

The newly constituted board of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has elected President Donald Trump as its chairman.

“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 said in a statement on his Truth Social platform.

The vote, according to the president, was unanimous – but a source familiar with the vote told CNN that there were votes of abstention and votes against Trump as chair.

The center confirmed that Trump was elected chairman of the board in a statement Wednesday and announced its new board membership – which saw the addition of several new Trump appointees after the removal of trustees who had been appointed by Democratic presidents.

The president’s aggressive push to reshape the Kennedy Center puts the Washington, DC-based performing arts complex in the middle of the culture wars. While announcing his planned takeover last week, he called out the center’s programming.

“Just last year, the Kennedy Center featured Drag Shows specifically targeting our youth — THIS WILL STOP,” Trump said on Truth Social on February 7. “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!”

Trump told reporters Monday, “So we took over the Kennedy Center. We didn’t like what they were showing and various other things.”

“I’m going to be chairman of it, and we’re going to make sure that it’s good and it’s not going to be woke. There’s no more woke in this country,” he added. “Woke has cost us a fortune and cost us our reputation, but the reputation is coming back very, very rapidly.”

The Kennedy Center, which opened in 1971 in Washington, DC, was designated as a memorial to President John F. Kennedy following his assassination in 1963. It is home to the Kennedy Center Honors and puts on more than 2,000 performances in a typical year, according to its website.

Trump on Monday named Ric Grenell, a longtime confidant already serving in multiple administration positions, to lead the Kennedy Center on a temporary basis.

Newly announced members of the center’s board include second lady Usha Vance; top Trump aides Dan Scavino and Sergio Gor; chief of staff Susie Wiles; and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s wife, Allison Lutnick.

Among the board’s most immediate tasks had been to identify a replacement for the center’s president, Deborah Rutter, who confirmed Wednesday that she has officially departed her position in a lengthy statement that offered a subtle critique of Trump’s efforts.

The center also confirmed in a statement Wednesday that Rutter’s contract has been terminated. She had previously announced her intent to step down as the Kennedy Center’s president, and the board had retained a headhunting firm to help identify a new leader, but her departure was hastened after Trump moved to remake the board on February 7.

“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. I depart my position proud of all we accomplished to meet that ambition,” she said.

“Much like our democracy itself, artistic expression must be nurtured, fostered, prioritized, and protected. It is not a passive endeavor; indeed, there is no clearer sign of American democracy at work than our artists, the work they produce, and audiences’ unalienable right to actively participate,” she added.

Several other Kennedy Center figures are also leaving the nation’s cultural center amid the changes.

A spokesperson for television producer Shonda Rhimes, who served as the board’s treasurer, told CNN on Wednesday afternoon that she has resigned.

Artistic advisers Renee Fleming and Ben Folds also announced their departures from the Kennedy Center and the National Symphony Orchestra, respectively.

Fleming, who served as the artistic adviser at large to the center, praised former board chairman David Rubenstein as “the greatest patriot I know” and called Rutter “a tireless, creative leader.”

“They have both been an inspiration to me; and out of respect, I think it right to depart as well,” the performer said in a statement.

Folds, who had advised the NSO, cited “developments at the Kennedy Center” in his resignation statement.

“Not for me,” the musician said.

By Jake Tapper, Pamela Brown, Piper Hudspeth Blackburn and Betsy Klein, CNN

CNN’s Kevin Liptak and Dana Bash contributed to this report.