Trump at Kennedy Center: Booed AND Cheered

In case you don’t follow me on my blog on ArtsJournal, Row X, and LinkedIn (and why not start following me there now?), I’ve been writing regularly about President Trump’s takeover of the Kennedy Center. First I asked questions about the ability of the President to remove Board members, since the statute that established how Board members were appointed was silent on removal. But I had to let go of that line of criticism, since actually President is allowed to remove members of the Kennedy Center Board. That precedent was established during the Biden Administration when President Biden removed Sean Spicer from the Naval Academy’s advisory board. (I don’t think that it’s a good policy for a President to appoint the entire Kennedy Center Board anyway, but that’s a post for another day when I’ve dug more into the legal issues and policy implications.)

Then, I’ve been following the firings and cutbacks and new programming that’s been happening. I’ve been particularly entertained by the hundreds of comments of protest that appear on every Facebook post on the Kennedy Center’s page – check it out.

Last night President Trump himself attended the opening night of Les Misérables at the Kennedy Center. The audience exercised the right that audiences at performing arts and sporting events have exercised for time immemorial: expressing their opinion loudly and proudly. Some booed, some cheered. Drag queens protested President Trump’s particular disdain for having drag performances at the Kennedy Center with their mere presence.

All in all, a success in keeping the right of free expression alive, I think.

That’s all fun to watch, but there here’s a bigger issue I’m watching. At the meta level, I think it’s important to pay attention to the range of what people deem “political” when it comes to the arts.

On the one hand, The Kennedy Center staff have said they didn’t view their programming as political, but instead as showcasing the range of talent of American artists and international cultural forms. In other words, they sought to show the diversity of the arts in America and around the world. I think it’s safe to say that those of us working in the arts didn’t see the programming at the Kennedy Center as particularly groundbreaking or provocative because the debates of whether or not hip-hop and drag are art forms are over. The plain fact of programming a range of art forms from a range of cultures is not particularly political to us.

On the other hand, that programming IS seen as political by other folks, namely President Trump and Kennedy Center President Ric Grennell, and those who ascribe to their point of view. They call it “woke” and many other names as insult attempts. As far as their tastes, if we take them in good faith, then they see their programming of an evangelical Christian film and a “celebration of Christ” as non-political. Most arts professionals would see THAT programming as a political move. (I’m in that camp. Further, I don’t actually think they’re operating in good faith to restore any kind of neutrality; I think it’s part of their political project.)

That said, there are probably millions of Americans that would agree that a family friendly film about Jesus and a celebration of Christ is exactly the kind of culture they want to see. They come to that view in good faith. These are honest differences of preference and opinion about the place of culture in our society. My view is not incorrect, and neither is theirs. That’s part of the beauty of the arts: there’s room for it all, if we all operate in good faith and let there be room for differences of opinion.

My main project in my writing and research is to encourage and support arts organizations to understand their audiences better. I’m approaching this particular flashpoint moment as an opportunity to listen and learn how different audiences think about the arts to further that goal. Boo or cheer any particular analysis I share, but I hope you’ll join me in this effort.