Trump’s Takeover Wrecks Kennedy Center as Subscriptions Plummet
Donald Trump said he was going to bring the arts organization “back” from the brink. It seems the opposite is true.

Subscriptions to the Kennedy Center have dropped by more than a third since Donald Trump took over the arts institution and promised to remake it in his image.
Sales are down by about $1.6 million, or roughly 36 percent, compared to this time last year, The Washington Post reported Tuesday. By June 2024, subscription sales had produced $4,413,147.
But so far this year, the Kennedy Center has only made $2,656,524 from subscription sales, as well as an additional $155,243 from a special deal, according to internal data shared with the Post by former Kennedy Center staffers. A current staff member anonymously confirmed the numbers.
Subscriptions are just one source of revenue for the Kennedy Center. Others include donations, individual ticket sales, and government funding. But the current staffer said it was important to provide an indication of what is going on behind the center’s closed doors.
“We understand providing information like this can be seen in a bad light,” the current staffer told the Post. “But we feel that it is necessary to show that mismanagement by the new leadership is becoming a real problem for the health of the organization.”
The employee said that the new Trump-installed leadership has ignored staff opinions and even fired people who disagreed. As a result, “we feel that we no longer have a choice but to force complete transparency with the public.”
Trump took over the prestigious arts organization earlier this year, saying he plans to “bring it back” from disrepair—meaning get rid of any performances he deems too “woke.” So far, multiple productions have already backed out of performing at the center in protest against Trump.
Interestingly, though, one of the shows Trump has apparently approved to run at the Kennedy Center is Mrs. Doubtfire, which famously features a man in drag.
When asked about Trump’s effect on the Kennedy Center’s popularity, the new leaders pointed to large audiences at events such as a fireworks show by artist Cai Guo-Qiang and a screening of the animated film The King of Kings. Both of those events were free, according to the Post.