Washington, DC
CNN
—
President Donald Trump used his visit on Monday to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to criticize the venue of which he’s now the chairman, claiming that it’s ripe for an overhaul, just like the country he now leads.
“It’s in tremendous disrepair, as is a lot of the rest of our country, most of it because of bad management,” said Trump, who was elected chair last month by a newly constituted board, including several new Trump appointees who replaced trustees appointed by Democratic presidents.
Trump’s visit comes as he’s has sought to reshape the renowned arts institution – installing political loyalists in top leadership positions and criticizing its programming for being “woke.”
Trump on Monday called the Kennedy Center a “very big part of the fabric of Washington, DC,” adding, “We’re going to make our capitol great again, just like we’re going to make our country great again.”
Trump has faced blowback for those efforts to remake the center, with Hamilton the most high-profile show to cancel performances in the wake of Trump taking over the board. Producer Jeffrey Seller said in a statement that they had seen “decades of the Kennedy Center neutrality destroyed.”
But Trump suggested on Monday he was happy to see the production go. “I never liked Hamilton very much,” Trump told reporters of the musical written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, a modern telling of the country’s founding through the eyes of Alexander Hamilton, including a multi-ethnic cast.
“But we are going to have some really good shows,” Trump added. “I would say this, come here and watch it, and you’ll see, over a period of time, it’ll improve very greatly physically. And we’re going to get some very good shows. The thing that does well are Broadway hits.”
Singer Lee Greenwood — whose “God Bless the U.S.A.” is a frequent refrain at Trump events and who was appointed as a member of the board — had apparently sought to perform at the meeting Trump attended Monday, but the president told reporters that the center’s “union structure” had made it cost prohibitive.
“Lee Greenwood wanted to sing a little song today, and because of the cost of the union structure, for him to sing a song just for the board, just a board meeting, it was going to cost $30,000. That doesn’t sound too good. They wanted $30,000 to move a piano. So, you can’t have that,” Trump said.
At the board meeting – over which Trump presided on stage in the Opera House auditorium – he was flanked by more members, including Interim Executive Director Ric Grenell, second lady Usha Vance, interim Vice Chair Jennifer Fischer, Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles. Fox News anchors Maria Bartiromo and Laura Ingraham also attended, among others.
“The great Laura Ingraham,” Trump said off the top. “We’ve got a lot of power on this board.” It wasn’t just Trump’s close confidantes, however. Also on hand was DC Mayor Muriel Bowser.
On his tour of the facility, Trump specifically targeted the center’s appearance.
“You look at the columns outside, you look at they’re supposed to be covered by something, whether it’s marble, or whatever, granite. They were never covered. They were painted. But bring it into more modern times, a lot of money has been given to it, and the money has not been properly spent,” Trump told reporters.
Trump mentioned former Kennedy Center chairman David Rubenstein, who was elected in 2010, but not by name.
“You can’t have this looking like it does,” Trump said, “I’m so surprised, because I know the person who was in charge of it, and he’s a good man. I’ve never realized this was in such bad shape. I’ve been so busy. I haven’t been able to be here in a long time, and I shouldn’t be with what I’m doing.”
CNN has reached out to the Kennedy Center and to the White House regarding the president’s comments. But per the center’s website, the façade boasts Italian marble imported from three quarries, while the painted bronze exterior pillars — which Trump claimed were “supposed to be covered by something” — mimic similar pillars featured as part of the US Embassy in Delhi, India. Both the Kennedy Center and the embassy were designed by American architect Edward Durell Stone.
But Trump insisted the Kennedy Center will be made “great” through his efforts.
“It needs a lot of work,” Trump said on the presidential balcony after the board meeting. “But we’re going to make it great, just like we’re going to make the country great and DC great.”
Previewing renovations ahead, Trump said, “We’re going to make a lot of changes, including the seats, the décor, pretty much everything needs a lot of work.”
At one point on the balcony, Trump turned to Kennedy Center trustees Grenell and Sergio Gor, who joined him in the box, and said, “I’ll tell you what, Ric, why don’t you stand back?”
Trump stepped to the center with no one else in view.
The president, lit by spotlight, posed for photographers in his press pool below, joking, “Do you want a little picture like this?”
Arms outstretched, directly above the presidential seal, it was an image evocative of actress Patti LuPone in Trump’s favorite musical, “Evita.”
In his 2004 book, “Trump: Think Like a Billionaire: Everything You Need to Know About Success, Real Estate, and Life,” the then-real estate mogul admitting to seeing the musical six times, writing he hoped it would return to Broadway soon, while earlier on the tour he admitted a fondness for “Broadway hits.”
The White House Rapid Response team later posted on X video of Trump in the presidential box with his arms raised up.
“Incredibly powerful aura,” the caption said.
