President Trump says he will remove chairman of Kennedy Center and give himself the role

Jacob Calvin Meyer, Baltimore Sun on Feb 7, 2025

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BALTIMORE — President Donald Trump on Friday announced his plans to remove several board members of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, including Baltimore Orioles owner David Rubenstein as chairman.

In his post on Truth Social, Trump announced that he would install himself as Rubenstein’s successor.

“At my direction, we are going to make the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., GREAT AGAIN,” Trump wrote. “I have decided to immediately terminate multiple individuals from the Board of Trustees, including the Chairman, who do not share our Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture. We will soon announce a new Board, with an amazing Chairman, DONALD J. TRUMP.”

Rubenstein, who officially purchased the Orioles in March for $1.725 billion, has served as the Kennedy Center’s Board of Trustees Chairman since 2010. The private equity billionaire became only the sixth chairman in the center’s history, which dates to 1958 when its creation was authorized by Congress.

A spokesperson for Rubenstein declined to comment.

The center’s board has 36 members who are appointed to six-year terms. Members include former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre; former transportation secretary Elaine Chao, who is married to Sen. Mitch McConnell; Attorney General Pam Bondi; and country music singer Lee Greenwood.

The group is evenly divided by party. Whether Trump has the authority to dismiss board members remains to be seen.

Rubenstein, 75, was added to the board by President George W. Bush and was later reappointed by Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Rubenstein announced last year that he would retire as the board’s chairman in January, but the Baltimore native agreed to remain on through September 2026 after Trump’s election in November.

Trump was one of the presidents with whom Rubenstein spoke for his book “The Highest Calling: Conversations on the American Presidency,” which was published last year and was a New York Times bestseller.

The Atlantic first reported Trump’s planned takeover of the Kennedy Center, which was followed by his post on social media. In it, he said the Kennedy Center featuring drag shows is a reason for his shakeup of the institution.

“The Kennedy Center is an American Jewel, and must reflect the brightest STARS on its stage from all across our Nation,” he wrote. “For the Kennedy Center, THE BEST IS YET TO COME!”

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