Speaking from the Kennedy Center on Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced the honorees for the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors and confirmed he will personally host the event. Trump said he initially declined the invitation, joking, “Are you fools asking me to do that? I’m President of the United States. I won’t do it.” He ultimately agreed after a request from White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, saying, “Okay Susie, I’ll do it. That’s the power she’s got.”
House Republicans advanced a measure on July 22, 2025, to rename the Opera House at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., as the “First Lady Melania Trump Opera House.”
CNN is facing backlash after falsely reporting that cast members of Les Misérables would boycott opening night at the Kennedy Center because of President Donald Trump’s attendance. Former Ambassador Ric Grenell, now head of the Kennedy Center, condemned the outlet as “sick and manipulative” for promoting what he called a baseless, politically charged narrative.
Broadway actress Patti LuPone ignited a firestorm of backlash this week after she declared the Trump-led Kennedy Center “should get blown up,” reacting to sweeping changes made by President Donald Trump to the nation’s premier performing arts venue.
Internal documents reveal that former executives at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts allegedly fabricated financial records to conceal deficit spending.
Kennedy Center Director Richard Grenell has publicly criticized members of the touring cast of Les Misérables for planning to boycott a June 11 performance at the Kennedy Center, which President Donald Trump is scheduled to attend.
