Donald Trump’s pathetic and grammatically flawed attempt to affix his name to The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for The Performing Arts (“The Donald J. Trump and The…”) is emblematic of his narcissism and compulsive reliance on the authoritarian playbook—not to mention his blithering stupidity in attaching his name to a memorial, which pays tribute to the deceased.
His latest cultural abomination should surprise no one. “The tightening control over artistic freedoms and content is common under autocratic regimes and aspiring authoritarian leaders, given that art and culture often allow opposition through political commentary,” the Brookings’ Institution’s Jonathan Katz and Samara Angel wrote. “Overreach of government powers to control boards and positions on cultural institutions is not a new tactic.”
Despots historically have recognized that monopolizing culture is essential to dictatorial control. As Katz and Angel explained, Goebbels’s Reich Chamber of Culture in the 1930’s sought to ban “degenerate art” and purged “a variety of cultural spaces, including theatrical and visual arts but also… the press, film, and broadcast media.” Viktor Orban’s 2019 Culture Law “censored art and free expression [and] made funding of cultural institutions conditional on the government having a say in appointments to senior positions.” Likewise, after the 1976 military coup, “the Argentine Public Information Secretary (SIP) issued directives aimed at the ‘reconstruction of the national being’ through films, theater, and other artistic productions. Specific plays were prohibited, and many artists were individually targeted.”
As much as fascists despise “cultural elites,” they crave the prestige and relevance the arts can bestow on its patrons. Moreover, they fear the arts community as a hotbed of irreverence, dissent, and nonconformism. (“Authoritarians have always tried to control the creative community and ruthlessly stamp out art contrary to their ideology,” the Southern Poverty Law Center, now the target of Trump repression, explained in July. “The symbolism of a culture the administration disdains, combined with the power of art to penetrate popular culture and influence opinion, threatens Trump.”)
Trump’s ham-handed effort to commandeer a beloved institution has backfired, drawing near universal condemnation. Only 18% of Americans approve of the renaming stunt, according to a recent YouGov poll. Board member Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) (represented by Norm Eisen and the Washington Litigation Group) sued to prohibit the maneuver. The Kennedy family issued furious rebukes. And the American public has snubbed Trump with record-low viewership of the Kennedy Center Honors.
Performers also defied Trump, forcing The Kennedy Center to cancel its Christmas Eve program with Chuck Redd. So far, three other groups (the jazz group the Cookers set for two New Year’s Eve performances, New York City-based Doug Varone and Dancers, and folk singer-songwriter Kristy Lee) have bailed, despite threats of litigation. Stephen Schwartz, composer of the hit musical “Wicked,” backed out of hosting a gala. Earlier last year, “Hamilton” cancelled its run. The refusal to perform at the mad king’s behest powerfully reaffirms that the cultural community will not accept his defacement of an arts institution.
Delightfully, South Park alum writer Toby Morton grabbed the TrumpKennedyCenter.org URL to launch a laugh-out-loud parody site. (“Here, tradition is preserved, narratives are curated, and performances are elevated beyond mere art. What is remembered matters. What is omitted matters more,” Morton deadpans. “We invite you to experience culture as authority, pageantry as truth, and excellence as defined by those in power.”) Taunting the autocrat on the very ground he claims exemplifies why humorless despots like Trump fear an independent arts community. “We exist to preserve what must endure, to honor what must not be questioned, and to gather those who understand that greatness is not chosen, it is recognized,” Morton dryly intones.
On a personal note, since this arts lover could never enter a building defaced by Trump’s name, I recently demanded and received a full refund for remaining tickets I held for a venue called “The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for The Performing Arts.” After all, I never purchased anything for something bearing the name of an authoritarian, lawless, cruel, and racist (not to mention tasteless) wannabe dictator. I can attest that after the Trump takeover but prior to the faux renaming, well over half of the seats were empty for National Symphony concerts.
Meanwhile, the collapse of the venue under Trump’s reign attests to his regime’s utter incompetence in managing any institution it gets its mitts on. The New York Times reported in November (before the attempted name change):
Audiences are staying away. Internal sales figures obtained by The New York Times showed ticket sales down by about 50 percent from the same period last year during one typical week in October. Dozens of employees, many with decades of experience, have been fired or quit. Outsiders with few obvious qualifications aside from party loyalty were handed top jobs. The center’s head of human resources estimated that staffing was down 30 percent from before Mr. Trump took over. Others call that a conservative estimate.
Fortunately, most legacy media outlets recognize that Congress legally established the venue’s original name and, therefore, they refuse to refer to it as anything other than The Kennedy Center. (The media’s resistance to equally ludicrous attempts at renaming the Gulf of Mexico and the Defense Department has been uneven.) Trump can call it whatever he pleases, the rest of us can refuse to play along.
In short, only in Trump’s demented mind is the venue called anything but The Kennedy Center. Whatever compound name he puts on the building is illegitimate and should be disclaimed by anyone who’s not captive in the cult of personality. The cultural bellyflop is significant—and encouraging—for multiple reasons.
First, this serves as another example of the power of popular boycotts (e.g., Disney-ABC in the wake of Jimmy Kimmel; Target). Refusal to offer homage or dollars to Trump-deformed institutions denies him control over critical aspects of our lives. Those who comply with his edicts, be it CBS News or The Kennedy Center, cannot command our patronage. They thereby lose legitimacy. No one can force viewers to watch Bari Weiss’s laughable propaganda outfit, nor step foot in a building Trump has vandalized.
Second, refusal to knuckle under to Trump’s cultural assaults puts the spotlight back on spineless institutions (e.g., the Paul Weiss law firm, Columbia University, the Washington Post) that have self-censored. Cultural defiance reaffirms that universities, media outlets, and cultural venues can be authentic only if they maintain independence. That provides a brake on a regime trying to dominate every corner of our lives.
Third, Trump’s tone deaf and tasteless efforts at self-glorification (e.g., tearing down the East Wing, turning the Oval Office into an ungapatchka eye-sore) break through the noise in a way that political minutiae cannot. Trump winds up making himself the butt of jokes and inspiring Americans, as Kerry Kennedy put it, to “grab a pickax” to remove all vestiges of Trump from America. Now, that’s a 2026 resolution we can all adopt.
Thank you again for your wonderful analysis. I was out in the street in the freezing cold on Sunday protesting this lawless regime. It was worth the numb toes and fingers to shout No to the facists. RESIST
“Pageantry as truth.”
Before this vile nightmare was thrust upon us, I didn’t even know you could mix fake Louis XVI with the Beverly Hillbillies and Siegfried and Roy’s predator performance at Las Vegas and call it a style.
Was he able to get Albert Speer to come out of his grave long enough to redesign his Imperial Ball(less) Room?