Trump seeks to expand his influence over arts and culture with Kennedy Center moves

After dominating U.S. politics for nearly a decade, President Trump now appears to be setting his sights on the country’s cultural landscape.

A Friday announcement that Trump is naming himself chair of the Kennedy Center’s board is a step toward giving his administration a much bigger role in and influence over the world of arts and entertainment overseen by the federal government. Political experts say the unprecedented move by a commander in chief could be just the beginning.

“It's like an assault on every kind of norm that has existed in American social and political and cultural life that he's engaging in,” said Mark Wheeler, a political communications professor at London Metropolitan University in England.

The surprise Kennedy Center news from Trump, Wheeler said, is one that both plays to his GOP base and is part of a “shock and awe” strategy he’s pursuing in “many different kinds of fronts in terms of public policy but also the cultural precepts.”

“It’s the kind of disruptor process that Trump is engaged in, in terms of the kind of celebrity and political outsider image that he's constructed or has been constructed for him,” said Wheeler, the author of “Hollywood: Politics and Society.”

Trump, who on Sunday became the first sitting president to attend the Super Bowl, has made it clear that he wants to prevent the Kennedy Center from putting on cultural works with which he disagrees, criticizing “drag shows” in a Truth Social post and raising questions over how much politics might influence Washington's leading performing arts center, which opened in 1971.

“Since bursting onto the political stage in 2015, President Trump has made culture the dominant issue in American politics and society — with some unwitting support from the Democratic left,” former Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.) said. “Appointing himself to this position will allow him to continue casting himself as a cultural warrior undoing the excesses of the left and restoring what he would call traditional American culture.”

Trump and the GOP on the campaign trail in 2024 successfully leaned into issues such as drag shows and transgender surgeries as talking points about how liberals had taken "wokeism" too far.

And Republicans say growing the influence conservatives have in cultural institutions is essential.

“I think there is a keen sense that conservatives should have a place at the table in cultural institutions again. And cultural institutions should welcome this,” said Patrick Wilson, a political appointee from Trump’s first term.

“As this present era should remind everyone, including higher education and arts organizations, you need to be bipartisan and recruit friends and have patrons from across the political spectrum. It’s just smart. I think that’s actually what this is about,” Wilson added.

In response to the president’s Friday night post, the Kennedy Center highlighted its historically “collaborative relationship with every presidential administration,” noting it had not received any information from the Trump administration about his move, which also involved terminating the terms of multiple board members.

Trump is moving quickly to put his allies in positions at the Kennedy Center. He named Richard Grenell, his envoy for "special missions," the interim executive director of the institution Monday.

Even some Democrats pointed to the president’s authority to make changes at the Kennedy Center, while expressing weariness about what a Trump-controlled future might look like.

“He is president, and he gets to make these decisions. To many people like me, the Kennedy Center and its shows are the city's cultural icons,” said Ivan Zapien, a former official at the Democratic National Committee. “So, I’m rooting for it to continue to be cool.”

But Trump suggested there could be an overhaul of the shows that are featured at the Kennedy Center.

“Just last year, the Kennedy Center featured Drag Shows specifically targeting our youth — THIS WILL STOP,” he said.

He added that he thought the Kennedy Center was “an American Jewel” and should reflect the “brightest STARS” from across the U.S.

“I think it's part of his larger effort to remove DEI and diversity from sports, other things, and pieces of American culture,” said Amy Bree Becker, a professor of communication and media at Loyola University Maryland.

“And so, if the Kennedy Center is Washington's hub for culture, he wants it to reflect his vision of what culture should look like. Not, I think, what maybe it has been in the past,” Becker said.

Former President Biden's White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, responded for the first time publicly Monday to Trump's vow to reshape the Kennedy Center's board. Jean-Pierre, one of several Biden-era names on the board, wrote in a post on the social platform X: "I love everything about this remarkable institution and will always hold many precious memories close to my heart."

"I'll be fine," she said, "But we all must continue the work to ensure that the arts and humanities remain a core fabric of our society and culture."

Trump is seeking broader influence over other parts of American culture, too.

In the days before he was sworn in, he named new eyes and ears in Hollywood to keep tabs on the traditionally left-leaning moviemaking business. He gave Mel Gibson, Sylvester Stallone, and Jon Voight — all actors who have expressed political support for him — roles as "special ambassadors" to the entertainment industry.

He attempted to target another D.C. institution, the National Cathedral, after Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde last month publicly called on him to be merciful toward transgender people and immigrants. But the cathedral can’t be financially threatened by the president — it doesn’t receive any federal funding and relies only on private donations.

During his first term in office, Trump rarely explored D.C. establishments.

While other presidents visit local restaurants during their time at the White House, Trump would opt instead to go out to his golf club in the Virginia suburbs or dine at his own hotel property in downtown Washington before it was sold in 2022.

He delivered remarks at a gala at Ford's Theatre in his first year in office but never attended the Kennedy Center Honors; he bucked tradition and declined to go after several of the award’s recipients criticized him.

Trump also skipped the White House Correspondents' Association dinner — one of the buzziest events of the year in Washington and which typically includes remarks from the sitting president — for the entirety of his first term. The headliner for this year's dinner, Amber Ruffin, said earlier this month that "no one" wants Trump to be at the April 26 gala. Trump hasn't indicated whether he'll attend.

It’s still unclear how much Trump’s actions may leave a mark on the nation’s cultural and artistic institutions. But Becker said “small changes” have already happened, and more could be on the way.

“I think that you could see subtle cultural shifts across a variety of areas, in part because of his administration, but in part because maybe certain leaders in different organizations or companies are also responding to that as well.”

Becker didn’t hesitate when asked if Trump will actually chair the Kennedy Center’s board, pouring cold water on the idea that the president would do so and questioning the media’s coverage of it.

“Part of it is to draw attention and to distract from other things,” she said, and the press “is covering it as this big story.”

While Trump can be unpredictable, Wheeler agreed that between time constraints and other pressing issues, it seems unlikely that the president will actually take on the role of heading the Kennedy Center’s board.

“This does seem to be more a question of, ‘I’m going to be doing these shots across the bow and getting everybody kind of concerned,’” the author said.

“Maybe he feels that this will make people, therefore, march to his demands.”

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