Dec. 28, 2025, 5:16 p.m. ET
The Trump-Kennedy Center is threatening legal action against jazz musician Chuck Redd, who’d canceled a Christmas Eve performance in protest of the institution being renamed in honor of President Donald Trump.
In a Dec. 26 letter addressed to Redd, which was published by The Associated Press and also reported by The New York Times, Trump-Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell threatened to “seek $1 million in damages” from Redd for what he called a “political stunt” that “has cost us considerably.”
The 67-year-old vibraphonist and drummer on Dec. 24 told the AP and CNN that he’d canceled his appearance in the Christmas Eve Jazz Jam “when I saw the name change” taking place at the Kennedy Center.
“Your decision to withdraw at the last moment — explicitly in response to the Center’s recent renaming, which honors President Trump’s extraordinary efforts to save this national treasure — is classic intolerance and very costly to a non-profit Arts institution,” Grenell’s letter read, according to the AP.
He went on to accuse Redd of falling prey “to the sad bullying tactics employed by certain elements on the left, who have sought to intimidate artists into boycotting performances at our national cultural center.” Grenell also alleged that attendance for the Jazz Jam, which Redd has led for nearly 20 years, has been “lagging considerably behind our other Christmas and holiday offerings.”
“This institution remains dedicated to excellence and accessibility for generations to come, and we will not yield to the pressure tactics being directed at us from political performers on our stages,” Grenell’s letter concluded. “True artists perform for everyone regardless of the political affiliation of audience members.”
In a Dec. 26 X post, Grenell shared the New York Post’s reporting on the Kennedy Center’s response and wrote, “The left is boycotting the Arts because Trump is supporting the Arts. But we will not let them cancel shows without consequences. The Arts are for everyone – and the Left is mad about it.”
USA TODAY has reached out to Redd and the Kennedy Center for comment.
Redd is a Maryland-born musician who kicked off his career in the late ’70s by drumming for the late bossa nova guitarist Charlie Byrd – a partnership that spanned 19 years. A former University of Maryland faculty member, Redd performed alongside Barney Kessel at the White House for President Jimmy Carter’s state dinner in 1981.
He released his most recent album, “Groove City,” in 2019.
The Kennedy Center’s board of trustees’ controversial Dec. 18 decision to rename the music, arts, and cultural institution the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts has made its way to federal court following a lawsuit filed by U.S. Rep Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) on Dec. 22.
