I would prefer to avoid constantly writing about the shallow narcissist who pulled over the greatest con in American political history, but Donald Trump consistently provides daily examples of his a-holiness.
Always in search of something to slap his name on — a building, a golf course, a steak, or a sham “university,” he has set his sights on America’s cultural crown jewel of the arts: the John F. Kennedy Center.
Trump consistently stoops to nefarious lows as no president before him — this time, he’s declared himself Chairman of the Center, installed a political loyalist as president and director, gutted leadership, canceled programming that doesn’t fit his “politics,” and casually floated renaming the place the “Trump/Kennedy Center.”
Why? Because in Trump world, it’s always about Trump.
This is not about art, culture, or the Kennedy Center’s achievements (it is highly successful, humming along just fine). It’s about narcissism as policy—Trump inserting himself into yet another institution that didn’t ask for or need his “help.”
He’s treating the Kennedy Center the way he treated the Republican Party: purge anyone who’s not a sycophant, replace them with cronies, and rebrand to glorify “Trump” louder than anything else. A Trump administration loyalist now runs the place. Programming has been gutted. Rainbow ribbons removed. Performances like Hamilton and Eureka Day were axed for being “woke.”
And now, thanks to his allies in the Republican-led House Appropriations Committee, there’s a serious proposal to rename the Opera House for Melania Trump. Because for Trump, public service is a steppingstone to personal branding.
The Kennedy Center isn’t failing. It doesn’t need “reprogramming” or “renovation” — unless you count the normal upkeep any major arts institution undergoes.
A 2021 GAO audit confirmed the Center was on solid footing, with only minor operational adjustments needed (which were fixed). Programming was thriving, ticket sales were steady, and the building’s expansion — which Trump publicly mocked — was part of a long-planned modernization effort.
Trump’s claim that the Center’s shows were “a disgrace” is pure fiction. The only disgrace here is an American president attacking one of the nation’s most important cultural institutions because it dared to put on shows that didn’t coalesce around or into his worldview.
Trump’s favorite insult — “woke” — is the usual deliberate distortion. A term that means social awareness and a refusal to accept injustice has, in MAGA’s hands, become anti-American, a lazy, all-purpose smear for anything inclusive, diverse, or progressive.
When Trump attacks “woke” at the Kennedy Center, he’s advocating for art that doesn’t challenge power, reflect America’s diversity, or provoke constructive debate. He’s not fighting “bad theater;” he’s fighting the very idea of art as a mirror to society — because when that mirror reflects an honest view of Trumpism, our fearless leader can’t stomach what he sees.
If this was one more case of Trump being Trump, with no real harm done, I would not bother writing about it. However, since the Trump takeover, ticket subscriptions have cratered 82%. Dozens of staff have been fired or resigned. And while servile corporate donors aligned to fill some of the financial gap, the artistic soul of the institution has been hollowed out.
In the end, Trump isn’t making the Kennedy Center “great again.” He’s turning it into a partisan plaything, where art serves his politics, not the public. It’s about the usual Trump bologna—aggrandizing himself. He’s not trying to save an ailing institution; he’s hijacking a thriving one, hollowing it out, and painting his name on its shell. It’s what he’s done with everything he’s run, from casinos to fake universities, to the country itself. The Kennedy Center was named for a president who inspired service and idealism. Today, it risks becoming a monument to a man who inspires neither.
If there’s any justice in cultural history, in a few short years, the “Trump/Kennedy Center” branding will be remembered not as a golden era, but as a garish, self-serving (temporary) detour —a moment when an institution built to celebrate the best of America became a prop in the worst president’s never-ending reality show. If there is a curtain call for this production, let’s hope it’s for Trump walking off the stage . . . for good.
Mark M. Bello is an attorney and author of 9 Zachary Blake Legal Thrillers and other legal themed novels and children’s books. For more information, please visit https://www.markmbello.com
