Trump announces that he is installing himself as chairman of the Kennedy Center

President Donald Trump said Friday that he will install himself as chairman of the Kennedy Center and reject several board members.

Trump, who has no experience in managing a performance center, said of truth social that he “would immediately end several people from the board, including the chairman who do not share our vision for a golden age in art and culture.”

“We will soon announce a new board with a fantastic chairman, Donald J. Trump,” he added.

He complained in the post that Kennedy Center Last year included “Drag Shows specifically targeting our youth – this will stop.”

The plan was originally reported by The Atlantic Ocean Before Trump published the message.

While the news may have shocked art and cultural worlds, Trump has said since his election victory that he would like to be chairman of the center, according to New York Times.

The current chairman is a financier and philanthropist David Rubenstein, who has been at the helm in the center for over a decade. His pension in January this year had previously been announced, but after Trump’s election, the center said he would remain in the role until September 2026.

Rubenstein was appointed by President George W. Bush and has had former President Joe Bid in one of his home. But he has also had a relationship with Trump talking to him about a book about presidents published last year.

Several board members told The times That they were not aware that Trump’s message was coming.

A board member appointed by Biden received an E email telling them that they had been removed from Sergio Gor, the leader of Trump’s staff office, according to the paper.

Trump announced that he would install himself as chairman of the Kennedy Center
Trump announced that he would install himself as chairman of the Kennedy Center (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved?

“On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I write to inform you that your attitude towards the Kennedy Center board will end, with effect immediately. Thank you for your service, ”said the E email, who carries the subject line:“ An update from the White House. “

The center said in a statement to the paper on Friday night that it had not been told about Trump’s plans to proclaim his leadership. However, it noted that some board members had been told about their resignation.

“According to the center’s governance established by the Congress in 1958, the chairman of the board of the center of the center’s board members is appointed,” the declaration states. “There is nothing in the center’s statute that would prevent a new administration from replacing board members; However, this would be the first time such action has been taken with the Kennedy Center’s Board of Directors. “

Against criticism of some Honorees in his first period, Trump refused to join the Kennedy Center -Head Certificate. Trump’s plan to bring the board closer under his control would go against many years of top -notch ship.

The Board of Directors has 36 members and has recently been shared evenly by Democrats and Republicans. Board members are appointed to conditions that last six years.

Biden filled a dozen vacancies on the board of directors during the last few weeks of his time in the White House and appointed former press secretary at the White House Karine Jean-Pierre and Mike Donilon, his political strategist. The Board of Directors is currently divided evenly between board members appointed by Biden and Trump.