Trump becomes chair of leading cultural centre. Artists quit

President Donald Trump was made chairman of the John F. Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts in Washington, he announced overnight, cementing his grip on an institution that he recently purged of Biden appointees.

The centre’s long-time president, Deborah Rutter, was then fired from her position, the centre said. Richard Grenell, a Trump loyalist who was ambassador to Germany during the first Trump administration, was appointed the centre’s interim president.

US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on Wednesday.Credit: Bloomberg

Trump posted on social media: “It is a Great Honor to be Chairman of The Kennedy Center, especially with this amazing Board of Trustees. We will make The Kennedy Center a very special and exciting place!”

Grenell visited the centre on Wednesday, according to an official there.

The centre announced a new slate of board members – all appointed by Trump – and said in a statement that the new board elected Trump chairman and “terminated” Rutter’s contract.

Trump’s actions prompted an outcry in the cultural world.

Superstar soprano Renee Fleming said she would step down as an artistic adviser to the centre. She praised the centre’s departing leaders and said that “out of respect, I think it right to depart as well.”

Opera star Renee Fleming has quit her role as the centre’s artistic adviser.

“I’ve treasured the bipartisan support for this institution as a beacon of America at our best,” Fleming said in a statement. “I hope the Kennedy Centre continues to flourish and serve the passionate and diverse audience in our nation’s capital and across the country.”

She was not the only high-profile departure. Singer and songwriter Ben Folds said he would also resign his post as an adviser to the National Symphony Orchestra, which is overseen by the Kennedy Centre.

“Given developments at the Kennedy Center, effective today I am resigning as artistic adviser to the NSO,” Folds wrote on Instagram. “Mostly, and above all, I will miss the musicians of our nation’s symphony orchestra — just the best!”

Rutter said in a statement about her departure that it had been the honour of her career to lead the institution, which, in addition to a performing arts centre, is a memorial to former President John F. Kennedy. She did not describe being fired.

“The goal of the Kennedy Center has been to live up to our namesake, serving as a beacon for the world and ensuring our work reflects America,” she said. “I depart my position proud of all we accomplished to meet that ambition. From the art on our stages to the students we have impacted in classrooms across America, everything we have done at the Kennedy Center has been about uplifting the human spirit in service of strengthening the culture of our great nation.”

The Kennedy Centre has historically been run by bipartisan boards in the past. On Monday, the Trump administration officially removed 18 board members who had been appointed by former president Joe Biden, and the board chairman, financier David Rubenstein.

The centre posted a revised list of board members on its website overnight. It is now made up entirely of Trump appointees.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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