President Trump left the art world on Friday with his social media announcement in order to appoint himself chairman of John F. Kennedy Center for the performing arts in Washington and immediately end members of the board of trustees who do not share our vision for one Golden age in art and culture. “
Shortly after the news had broken out, the Kennedy Center website was difficult to reach on the landing page due to the “high traffic”.
“The Kennedy Center is aware of the mail recently created by (the president) on social media,” said the art institution in an explanation by e -mail. “We have not received any official messages from the White House about changes to our board of trustees. We are aware that some members of our board have received announcements from the administration. ”
In its explanation, the Kennedy Center found that the institution since its foundation “had a common relationship with every presidential administration” and “a cross -party board of trustees that supported the arts in a non -party manner”.
“The chairman of the board of trustees is appointed by the Center board members,” says the explanation. “There is nothing in the statute of the center that prevents a new administration from replacing board members. However, this would be the first time that such measures were taken with the Kennedy Center board. “
Trump has long had a controversial relationship with the famous art institution than the most respected culture -Avatar of the nation. In 2017, he and First Lady Melania Trump jumped out this year's Kennedy Center after the criticism of award winners and only marked the fourth time in the history of the organization that a president was not present.
The Kennedy Center is a federal institution that was approved by a Congress Act in 1958 and maintains a public-private partnership with the Federal Government, which financed the maintenance and operation of the building. The art programs, performances and education initiatives are paid for by ticket sales and gifts from donors.
The current chairman is a businessman and philanthropic David M. Rubenstein for more than a decade. Rubenstein had planned to retire last month, but after Trump's election it became known that he would remain in his role for another year. Board members are appointed by the President. There are currently 36 board members, some of whom were appointed in his first term of trump, including Pam Bondi – now his Attorney General – and his former transport minister Elaine Chao.
President Biden occupied a number of free job offers in his last few weeks and named, among other things, political strategist Mike Donilon. The Honorary Chairman of the Kennedy Center include the First Ladies Melania Trump, Jill Biden, Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama and Laura Bush.
“It was only last year that the Kennedy Center Drag shows showed that aimed at our youth – this will stop,” Trump wrote on his social platform of truth. “The Kennedy Center is an American jewel and has to reflect the brightest stars on its stage of our whole nation.”
This is not the first time in the early days of his second administration that Trump has taken confrontational attitude towards cultural organizations. One of his first acts as President was to dissolve the committee for arts and humanities founded by President Reagan in 1982 by President Reagan to advise on questions of cultural and artistic import.
In his social media post, Trump did not say which board members of Kennedy Center he wanted to suppress.