Trump says goodbye to members of the Kennedy Center Council and its president is appointed

Washington. President Donald Trump says he is dismissing members of the Board of Directors of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and appointing his president himself.

He also indicated that he would dictate the program in one of the main cultural institutions of the country, specifically declaring that he would end events that present artists drag.

The announcement occurred on Friday while the Republican President has overwhelmed Washington during the first weeks of his second term, trying to close federal agencies, freeze expenses and end initiatives for diversity, equity and inclusion throughout the government.

Under my direction, we will make the Kennedy center in Washington again. I have decided to end immediately with multiple individuals of the Board of Directors, including the President, who do not share our vision of a golden age in arts and cultureTrump wrote in his social network Truth.

We will soon announce a new advice, with an incredible president: Donald J. Trump!

In a subsequent statement on its electronic portal, the Kennedy center reported that it was aware of Trump’s publication. We have not received official communications from the White House regarding changes in our Board of Directorsthe statement said. We are aware that some members of our Council have received notifications for the termination of the administration.

The statement continued: According to the governance of the center established by Congress in 1958, the president of the Board of Directors is appointed by the members of the Center Council. There is nothing in the Statute of the Center that prevents a new administration from replacing the members of the Council; However, this would be the first time such action is taken with the Kennedy Center Council.

Artists drag They accused Trump of attacking them for who they are in a country where freedom of expression is guaranteed by the Constitution.

This is about who has the right to exist in public spaces and what stories are told on the United States stagesaid Blaq Dinamyte, president of Qommittee, a national artist network drag and allies. Prohibiting a complete art form is censorship, simply. The Americans do not have to agree on everything, but we should be able to express our opinions and make our art without prohibitions, reprisals or intimidation.

Unlike all the presidents over the decades, Trump did not attend the annual honors ceremonies of the Kennedy center during his first term.

Shortly after Trump’s publication, the Kennedy center website began to experience technical difficulties. The visitors received a message that said: We are experiencing a lot of traffic And they were redirected to a waiting room that listed how many people of people were trying to access the site before them.

Trump suggested in his publication that he would implement some changes in the center’s actions calendar, noting that last year “the Kennedy center presented shows Drag specifically aimed at our youth – this will stop. ”

According to its website, the center in July organized a pre-show entitled “Greetings drag to the divas “and a”Brunch Drag”In November.

Bipartisan Council

In its publication, Trump did not clarify which members of the Board of Directors in addition to the current president, the philanthropist David Rubenstein. The Council often has political influential and great donors, and is currently composed of members of both parties.

Rubenstein was first chosen for the position in 2010 and relegated every year since then. He was originally appointed to the Kennedy Center Council by Republican President George W. Bush and subsequently relegated by Democrats Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

The current council includes the White House Press Secretary of Biden, Karine Jean-Pierre, as well as Mike Donilon, a long-standing ally of Biden, and Stephanie Cutter, former Obama advisor. The Treasurer of the Board of Directors of the Center is the television producer Shonda Rhimes, who organized fundraising events for Biden before he left his candidacy for re -election last summer.

But the current council also has Trump allies, including Pam Bondi, his newly confirmed secretary of Justice, and Lee Greenwood, whose song God Bless the USA It was the unofficial hymn of Trump’s presidential campaigns.

During his first term in 2019, Trump announced that he was appointing actor Jon Voight, a long -term supporter, to the Council, together with former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, who has been nominated to be the ambassador to Israel.