Donald Trump has announced his plans to wipe out the board of trustees at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and replace the chairman with himself.
Trump said that he was specifically motivated to overhaul the center so he could end the drag shows it occasionally hosts.
“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,” Trump said on Truth Social. “We will soon announce a new Board, with an amazing Chairman, DONALD J. TRUMP!”
“Just last year, the Kennedy Center featured Drag Shows specifically targeting our youth — THIS WILL STOP,” he continued. “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!”
The Kennedy Center hosts over 2,000 events each year, making it the nation’s busiest performing arts center. It is the official home of the National Symphony Orchestra and the Washington National Opera, and puts on family-friendly drag shows on occasion.
The Kennedy Center told CNN that it “is aware of the post made recently by POTUS on social media” but that it has “received no official communications from the White House regarding changes to our board of trustees,” though “some members of our board have received termination notices from the administration.”
Blaq Dinamyte, president of Qommittee — a national network of drag artists and allies led by survivors of hate crimes such as the Pulse and Club Q mass shootings, a firebombing at an Ohio church, and an attack on a power grid in North Carolina — said in a statement that “regardless of who you are, America is a place of free expression. No exceptions. We are being targeted because we’re LGBTQ+. Period.
“This is about who gets to exist in public spaces and whose stories get to be told on America’s stage,” Dinamyte said. “We’ve seen our community face bomb threats, armed protests, and mass shootings. But we’ve also seen how communities from coast to coast stand up for art and inclusion when given the chance. We’re not going anywhere.”
“Banning an entire art form is censorship, plain and simple. Americans don’t have to agree on everything, but we should be able to speak our minds and perform our art without bans, retaliation, or intimidation,” Dinamyte continued. “Drag is joy. It’s beauty. It helps people find themselves and celebrates difference. We applaud the Kennedy Center staff and board who have recognized that over the years and thank them for providing a space in the Nation’s Capital where all people can be themselves.”
