Donald Trump has named longtime foreign policy adviser Ric Grenell as interim executive director of the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, a move likely to raise concerns about the politicisation of the arts and potential for censorship.
Grenell has been a vocal tribune of Trump’s “America First” ideology, and was not afraid to ruffle feathers during past spells as ambassador to Germany and acting director of national intelligence (he was the first openly gay person to lead the intelligence community). More recently, the 58-year-old has served as the president’s envoy for special missions, and was involved in securing the release of Americans detained in Venezuela.
Trump had announced on Friday that he was firing multiple individuals from the national cultural complex’s board of trustees, including chairman David Rubenstein, a billionaire philanthropist.
Trump named himself chairman and said he would soon announce a new board for the Kennedy Center, which he condemned for having featured “drag shows specifically targeting our youth”.
In a social media post on Monday, the president wrote: “Ric shares my Vision for a GOLDEN AGE of American Arts and Culture, and will be overseeing the daily operations of the Center. NO MORE DRAG SHOWS, OR OTHER ANTI-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA – ONLY THE BEST. RIC, WELCOME TO SHOW BUSINESS!”
The tirade contradicts Trump’s past statements. In 2020, defending $25m in funding for the Kennedy Center as part of economic relief during the Covid pandemic, he said: “The Kennedy Center, they do a beautiful job, an incredible job.”
The Kennedy Center, which receives federal funding, is one of the nation’s leading arts venues and has long enjoyed bipartisan support.
Its programming includes classical music concerts, dance performances such as Alvin Ailey and The Nutcracker, magic shows, numerous operas and shows specifically aimed at children. Its roster of musicals over the past two years has included Frozen, Funny Girl, Les Misérables, The Lion King, Mamma Mia!, Moulin Rouge, Spamalot, Sunset Boulevard and Wicked.
The board was in the process of selecting a new president to replace the outgoing Deborah Rutter, who announced last month her intention to step down after 11 years.
Presidents appoint members of the center’s board of trustees. On Monday, a list of previous board members had been removed from the center’s website, according to a report by CNN.
In response to Trump’s announcement last week, the Kennedy Center highlighted its long and “collaborative relationship with every presidential administration” and said it had not received any information from the White House regarding the change.
Grenell delivered an address at last year’s Republican national convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, just days after Trump survived an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania.
Speaking to reporters during the convention, Grenell said: “I’m really struck this week that we could we be having a funeral for Donald Trump.
“I believe that God intervened. I believe it was a total divine intervention and, for me, just personally, I believe that means that God isn’t finished with him. There’s more work to be done.”
Since taking office last month, Trump has launched a massive government makeover, firing and sidelining hundreds of civil servants and top officials at agencies in his first steps toward dismantling the bureaucracy and installing loyalists.
During his first term in office, Trump snubbed the annual Kennedy Center Honors, considered the top national award for achievement in the arts. Joe Biden went to the honors in each of the four years of his presidency.
In December, at the last show attended by Biden, the center’s leaders made clear that Trump is welcome to come in the future.
The Kennedy Center is considered a living memorial to former president John F Kennedy, and its exterior wall is inscribed with quotations from the 35th president. One says: “I look forward to an America which will reward achievement in the arts as we reward achievement in business or statecraft.
“I look forward to an America which will steadily raise the standards of artistic accomplishment and which will steadily enlarge cultural opportunities for all of our citizens. And I look forward to an America which commands respect throughout the world not only for its strength but for its civilization as well.”
