Mr. Trump initially found the sight of numerous dancers sprawled onstage off-putting. (He recalled his immediate reaction: “You’ve got to be kidding. Let’s get out of here.”) However, his perspective shifted.
“As I entered, I saw all these figures, and then I realized those figures were stunning,” Mr. Trump remarked. “They were dressed in silk tights, comprised of ballerinas and Broadway performers. And there were men too.” Regarding the men, he noted: “To be honest, I didn’t find those particular physiques as appealing.”
When a board member inquired about new musicals that weren’t “completely woke,” someone responded that, in a departure from tradition, the center would host some productions not linked to Actors’ Equity, the union for actors. This change, they stated, “opens us up for a whole range of additional options as well as significantly more revenue.”
He aims to revamp the Kennedy Center Honors, which he claims have celebrated “radical left lunatics.”
Mr. Trump has been fixated on the Kennedy Center Honors, the annual award ceremony, since his first term, following criticism from several artists being recognized. In retaliation, the president boycotted the ceremony, marking a departure from customary practice.
During the Monday meeting, Mr. Trump expressed grievances that the center had been honoring “radical left lunatics” and suggested posthumous awards for Pavarotti, Presley, and Ruth. (Posthumously honored artists, naturally, cannot comment on contemporary politics. Pavarotti, who passed away in 2007, had already received the Kennedy Center honor in 2001; in 2016, his estate requested that Mr. Trump refrain from using his recordings at campaign events.)
Traditionally, the Kennedy Center Honors are awarded to artists. Mr. Trump, however, proposed that the scope could extend to the realms of sports, politics, and business, mentioning casino mogul Steve Wynn, a significant Republican benefactor, as a potential honoree. (Mr. Trump appointed Mr. Wynn’s spouse, Andrea, to the Kennedy Center’s board.)
