New Kennedy Center board elects Trump as chairman

President Trump says he’s now the chair of the Kennedy Center following a vote by its board after, in an unprecedented move, he named himself to the position.

“It is a Great Honor to be Chairman of The Kennedy Center, especially with this amazing Board of Trustees,” Trump wrote Wednesday on Truth Social.

“We will make The Kennedy Center a very special and exciting place!” the president said. 

A White House official told The Hill the president participated in the board meeting on Wednesday to elect him.

The Kennedy Center confirmed Trump’s election as its board chairman in a Wednesday news release, saying that and other leadership changes were “effective immediately.”

“The Board also terminated Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter’s contract and announced Richard Grenell as interim Kennedy Center President,” it said in its statement.

Some the board’s new members include: “God Bless the USA” singer and ardent Trump supporter Lee Greenwood, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, second lady Usha Vance and senior adviser Dan Scavino, among others.

Around the same time as Trump’s social media post, musician Ben Folds said he would resign as artistic adviser to the National Symphony Orchestra, “given developments at the Kennedy Center.”

“It’s been a wonderful 8 years” the former Ben Folds Five singer wrote on Instagram, saying he and the Kennedy Center’s staff encouraged “thousands of fresh new audiences to appreciate symphonic music.”

The election of a sitting president came after a surprise announcement last week by Trump, saying he would “immediately terminate multiple individuals from the Board of Trustees, including the Chairman, who do not share our Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture.”

“We will soon announce a new Board, with an amazing Chairman, DONALD J. TRUMP!” he said on Friday.

The move to make himself chair replaced billionaire philanthropist David Rubenstein. While the co-founder of the private equity firm Carlyle Group has ties to former President Biden, Rubenstein previously told ITK, “I don’t support any candidate any time anywhere. I don’t give any money to politicians, no matter who they are. I’ve never given a penny to anybody running for president of the United States.”

On Monday, Trump said he tapped Grenell, his envoy for special missions, as the interim executive director of the Kennedy Center.

That same day, Trump said, “We took over the Kennedy Center. We didn’t like what they were showing.”

“We’re going to make sure that it’s good and it’s not going to be woke. There’s no more woke in this country,” he said. 

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

Alex Gangitano contributed.
Updated on Feb. 13 at 8:48 a.m. EST