Jackie Kennedy once expressed fear that the Kennedy Center would “fall into the realm of political patronage” in a letter that’s making rounds in the wake of the cultural institution’s MAGA makeover. An October 1964 letter penned by the then-first lady to the center’s chairman, Roger Stevens, detailed her apprehensions about naming the Washington, D.C….
Kennedy Center staffers were blindsided by President Donald Trump’s abrupt announcement that he is closing the iconic venue for two years to renovate it. Staff learned of the closure, scheduled to begin on July 4, from the president’s rambling Truth Social post on Sunday evening, according to multiple reports, including CNN. It remains unclear how…
President Donald Trump attempted to wash his hands of the “massive deficit” plaguing the storied cultural institution that he has attempted to rename after himself. Trump, 79, passed the blame for the plummeting sales at the Kennedy Center. “People don’t realize that The Trump Kennedy Center suffered massive deficits for many years and, like everything…
A musician who canceled a show at the Kennedy Center is defending her choice following President Donald Trump’s decision to give it a MAGA makeover. “I won’t lie to you, canceling shows hurts. This is how I keep the lights on. But losing my integrity would cost me more than any paycheck,” folk singer Kristy…
The Kennedy Center is already losing performers after Donald Trump slapped his name on the storied arts institution. Kristy Lee, a folk singer scheduled to perform at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts on Jan. 14, is in talks to cancel her appearance, her spokesperson told NOTUS, as other artists also…
A Kennedy Center board member accused the White House of lying about the organization’s “unanimous” vote to change the center’s name to the “Trump-Kennedy Center,” claiming that her dissent was censored. On Thursday, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that the Trump-controlled board “voted unanimously” for the name change. Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), who sits on…
Washington — Kennedy Center president Ric Grenell and Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island are clashing over the center’s spending and operations records, after Trump allies were appointed to key roles at the Kennedy Center earlier this year, and President Trump was elected chairman of the board. In a letter to Grenell, Whitehouse said…
WASHINGTON (AP) — With National Guard troops in the streets and federal agents at the door of his former adviser, President Donald Trump spent a heavy dose of his Friday channeling his inner tourist and reliving his bygone days as a sports team owner and construction mogul. He stopped by a gift shop near the…
The White House took umbrage after a guest on CNN said the Kennedy Center had chosen to honor 81-year-old Gloria Gaynor merely because she is a person of color. On August 13, President Donald Trump unveiled this year’s Kennedy Center honorees, which include Gaynor, known for hit songs “I Will Survive” and “Eye of the…
US President Donald Trump speaks during the unveiling of the Kennedy Center Honors nominees on August 13, 2025, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Mandel Ngan | Afp | Getty Images President Donald Trump on Wednesday shrugged off a question about a new report that Russia is at least partially responsible for hacking the…