Trump names loyalist Ric Grenell as interim Kennedy Center leader President says America First ally will oversee operations amid concern about politicization of top US cultural center.
Donald Trump has named longtime foreign policy adviser Ric Grenell as interim executive director of the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, a move likely to raise concerns about the politicisation of the arts and potential for censorship.
During his first term in office, Trump snubbed the annual Kennedy Center Honors, considered the top national award for achievement in the arts.
Trump named himself chairman and said he would soon announce a new board for the Kennedy Center, which he condemned for having featured “drag shows specifically targeting our youth”.
In 2020, defending $25m in funding for the Kennedy Center as part of economic relief during the Covid pandemic, he said: “The Kennedy Center, they do a beautiful job, an incredible job.”.
