President Trump's name being added to The Kennedy Center has really upended the world of performing arts in the Nation's Capital.
As RedState's Katie Jerkovich reported just a few weeks back, the White House announced that The Kennedy Center would officially be rebranded as The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts – or the Trump-Kennedy Center for short – after its board of trustees voted to rename it. The move came after Trump and Ric Grenell, Trump's handpicked interim president of the storied performing arts center, have spent much of 2025 working to modernize and upgrade the facility and its offerings.
And no time was wasted in making the name change, with new signage going up on the building within just a few days.
Today, we proudly unveil the updated exterior designation—honoring the leadership of President Donald J. Trump and the enduring legacy of John F. Kennedy. 🇺🇸
— The Trump Kennedy Center (@kencen) December 19, 2025
The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts pic.twitter.com/ALEE59pkZ9
Then the cancellations started – not from patrons, but from performers.
Our Nick Arama did a masterful job covering the story of musician Chuck Redd, who had hosted the center's "Jazz Jams" Christmas Eve concert since 2006 and abruptly withdrew from the show after hearing of the name change. "When I saw the name change on the Kennedy Center website and then hours later on the building, I chose to cancel our concert," Redd told The Associated Press.
Ric Grenell said "not so fast, pal" to Redd and threatened to sue the performer to the tune (wink, wink) of $1 million for walking out on his commitment.
“Your decision to withdraw at the last moment — explicitly in response to the Center’s recent renaming, which honors President Trump’s extraordinary efforts to save this national treasure — is classic intolerance and very costly to a non-profit Arts institution,” Grenell wrote.
“Regrettably, your action surrenders to the sad bullying tactics employed by certain elements on the left, who have sought to intimidate artists into boycotting performances at our national cultural center,” he added.
Unfortunately, it looks like a few other acts are also putting their politics over their performances and canceling their Trump-Kennedy Center gigs. A New York City jazz group by the name of The Cookers have bailed on their planned New Year's Eve performance, saying, “Jazz was born from struggle and from a relentless insistence on freedom: freedom of thought, of expression, and of the full human voice."
READ MORE: Christmas Eve Concert Canceled at Trump Kennedy Center As Woke Scolds Throw Tantrum
Musician Who Canceled Kennedy Center Performance Over Trump Name Finds Out Actions Have Consequences
Somehow, Trump's name being added to a building has silenced "human voices"? It should be noted that Trump didn't silence anything; it's The Cookers who have abandoned their fans. And they're not the only ones, with country singer Kristy Lee walking away from her January gig in order to, in her own words, keep her integrity intact, and the Doug Varone and Dancers troupe canceling their April date because they can no longer "step inside this once great institution." Again, that's their choice.
Now, there are all kinds of reasons why performers may need to cancel gigs – such as illnesses and family emergencies, or, as we've seen, political temper tantrums and Trump Derangement Syndrome – but Ric Grenell has made a blockbuster claim as to why some of these recent cancellations could be happening: meddling from CNN and The Washington Post.
I have just been informed by some booked artists that they are receiving emails from @CNN and The @washingtonpost encouraging them to boycott the Trump Kennedy Center.
— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) December 30, 2025
The legacy media are left wing activists - and they are open about it.
There's no reason not to believe this is what Grenell is hearing, and, if true, it's shocking, chilling, and utterly unsurprising. What's being exposed here is left’s long-held belief that they own institutions like the Trump-Kennedy Center; the dawning realization that they don't means now no one gets to enjoy it. It's the fans that suffer, of course, but apparently that doesn't matter to these performers because ... Trump.
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