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Kennedy Center
It’s worse than during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when a deadly virus kept people away from public places.
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., once one of the nation’s most prestigious cultural institutions featuring the pinnacle of world-class entertainment, is facing an alarming collapse in attendance and reputation under President Donald Trump’s direct oversight.
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Since Trump took over as chair of the Kennedy Center’s board in February and appointed former ambassador Richard Grenell, a gay die-hard MAGA ally, to lead day-to-day operations, ticket sales have plummeted, according to The Washington Post. Between September 3 and October 19, roughly 43 percent of seats went unsold, compared with only 7 percent during the same period in 2024, the Post reports.
The data show that the Kennedy Center’s largest venues — the Opera House, Concert Hall, and Eisenhower Theater — are struggling across the board. Even high-profile events, such as The Sound of Music and National Symphony Orchestra programs, have failed to fill the house, leaving tens of thousands of seats empty.
Trump’s self-appointment as chair and his decision to overhaul the board marked an extraordinary politicization of the federally chartered arts institution. His administration’s move to end drag programming, including performances that had been featured in previous seasons and pulling long-planned programming for this summer’s WorldPride celebration, drew condemnation from artists and LGBTQ+ advocates who viewed it as part of a broader cultural rollback.
Related: Kennedy Center scrubs LGBTQ+ Pride concert after Donald Trump takeover
The political tension has spilled into the arts world. Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda told Out, The Advocate’s sibling publication under equalpride, that withdrawing the musical’s planned 2026 run at the Center was “morally not complicated.” He said the Kennedy Center “has historically been a bipartisan birthplace for the best of our nation’s arts,” but that “Trump’s administration politicized that — we were just not going to participate.”
The Advocate reported in August that Trump has taken an unusually hands-on role in the upcoming December 7 Kennedy Center Honors, a ceremony long seen as one of Washington’s most prestigious cultural events. The Honors, historically nonpartisan, have faced criticism for what some see as Trump’s effort to reshape them in his own image.
Former Kennedy Center president Michael Kaiser told The Post that depressed ticket sales not only undercut revenue but also threaten the institution’s long-term fundraising capacity. “The vast majority of donors are ticket buyers,” he said, warning that “depressed ticket sales … bode unfavorably for future fundraising revenue.”
Related: Lin-Manuel Miranda: 'Easy decision' to cancel Hamilton at Kennedy Center
Trump, however, has praised the Center on his social platform, calling it the “TRUMP KENNEDY, whoops, I mean KENNEDY CENTER,” and insisting it will soon be “the finest Arts and Entertainment Center anywhere in the World.”
For now, the once-crowded halls of America’s national performing arts center are half-empty — a reflection of how the politics of Trump’s second term have reached even the country’s cultural heart.
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