Kennedy Center Scraps Woke Performance Just Days After President Trump Takes Over As Chairman

President Donald Trump’s domestic agenda has been laser-focused on issues like preserving American culture and cutting government waste.

Both priorities converged when he announced earlier this month that he would be taking over as the chairman of the Kennedy Center board and removing a number of members:

🇺🇸 President Trump is going to make the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, Great Again! Trump removes several Kennedy Center board members and appoints himself as the new chair! 🥳 pic.twitter.com/tCg4wN2ipF

— LynneP (@LynneBP_294) February 8, 2025

Among the first major decisions following the overhaul was one involving the cancelation of a controversial performance, as Breitbart reported:

The Kennedy Center has canceled an upcoming LGBTQIA+ Pride performance by the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC (GMCW), shortly after President Donald Trump took the reins as chairman of the venue’s board.

The GMCW, a 250-member singing group of gay men that has performed for the Bidens, Clintons, and Obamas, announced that they are “deeply disappointed” with the Kennedy Center’s decision in a Tuesday night Facebook post:

“We are deeply disappointed with the news that our upcoming Pride performance with the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) has been canceled. The piece was intended to be a part of the Kennedy Center’s Pride celebration and we were very excited to be collaborating with the NSO as their guest chorus on the piece titled “A Peacock Among Pigeons,” the chorus said in a statement.

Going on to say how they “regret” that the opportunity to perform an LGBTQIA+ pride song with the NSO was “taken away,” the GMCW said they are “committed” to continuing their mission of furthering “equality” and “diversity.”

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This and similar choirs have made headlines for releasing objectionable content in the past:

Never forget the ‘San Francisco Gay Men’s Choir’ sang a song about ‘coming for your children’…and don’t forget that in 27 more days…this garbage is OVER… pic.twitter.com/6kSUQDGncH

— Liz Churchill (@liz_churchill10) December 24, 2024

Another controversial performer opted to cancel her own sold-out event at the venue in response to Trump’s move:

Actress Issa Rae just canceled the event she scheduled at the Kennedy Center because Trump got elected as the center’s new chairman.

“Unfortunately, due to what I believe to be an infringement on the values of an institution that has faithfully celebrated artists of all… pic.twitter.com/noVYM3SDbA

— George (@BehizyTweets) February 13, 2025

And some activists have even resorted to disruptive protests because they don’t like who is leading the Kennedy Center board:

The Democrats protesting at the Kennedy Center doing another tribal dance of desperation. What taxpayer funded entity paid for those buses to get them there? pic.twitter.com/fEftW8C1HD

— • ᗰISᑕᕼIᗴᖴ ™ • (@4Mischief) February 20, 2025

The Hill also reported on Trump’s decision to take charge of the Kennedy Center board as well as the subsequent decision to cancel the pro-LGBT performance:

The event, “A Peacock Among Pigeons: Celebrating 50 Years of Pride,” was removed last week from the Kennedy Center’s website, The Advocate reported, just days after Trump terminated the cultural center’s board of trustees and installed himself as chair.

Trump wrote on Truth Social that the decision to take over the Kennedy Center was made, in part, because of a drag performance held there last year. He called drag shows “anti-American propaganda” in another post announcing his selection of Richard Grenell to lead the center as executive director.

Grenell, also serving as an envoy for special missions, became the first openly gay Cabinet member when he was appointed acting director of national intelligence during Trump’s first term.

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In an emailed statement, Jean Davidson, executive director of the NSO, said the Kennedy Center’s decision to cancel the performance preceded Trump’s takeover.