President Trump announced Friday that two Fox News personalities will join the board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts – exactly one month after he axed existing members and appointed himself chairman of the iconic cultural institution.
Trump, 78, said Fox News anchors Laura Ingraham and Maria Bartiromo will serve on the 33-person Kennedy Center board of trustees to usher in “America’s Golden Age.”
“I am thrilled to announce that Laura Ingraham and Maria Bartiromo will be joining our Kennedy Center Board – This completes our selection,” the commander in chief wrote in a Truth Social post.
Then Republican presidential candidate President Donald Trump speaks at a Fox News town hall with Laura Ingraham on Feb. 24, 2024 in Greenville, South Carolina. REUTERS“We look forward to restoring the Center to Greatness, and ushering in America’s Golden Age. Together we will Make the Arts Great Again!”
Shortly after taking office, Trump gutted the board of several presidential appointees, arguing that the previous leadership didn’t share his “vision” for the arts.
The Kennedy Center, which hosts more than 2,000 events each year across its many stages, is the official residence of the National Symphony Orchestra and the Washington National Opera.
Trump, who often skipped the star-studded Kennedy Center Honors awards ceremony for the performing arts during his first term, also blasted the prestigious venue for previously hosting drag shows “targeting” children, declaring he would install a new board that supports his “Golden Age in Arts and Culture.”
The newest board is made up of several Trump allies, including himself, second lady Usha Vance, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, and Dan Scavino, Trump’s former deputy chief of staff for communications.
The announcement comes after Trump replaced the board of trustees from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and named himself chairman last month. Getty Images
Trump took to Truth Social after making the announcement official, saying, “This completes our selection.” REUTERSThe president also appointed special US envoy Ric Grenell to lead the center as interim president.
Other notable board members include Attorney General Pam Bondi, country singer Lee Greenwood and businessman Paolo Zampolli – all of whom were appointed during Trump’s first term as president.
News of the latest board appointees comes after Tony Award winning Broadway musical “Hamilton” cancelled its upcoming run at the iconic Washington, DC, venue, with producers arguing Trump’s actions violated the Kennedy Center’s “spirit of nonpartisanship.”
The popular show about Founding Father Alexander Hamilton played the Kennedy Center in 2018 during Trump’s first administration and again in 2022 when former President Joe Biden was in office.
It was scheduled again for next spring.
A rainbow appears over the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC on Dec. 16, 2007. REUTERS
Kennedy Center honorees of “Hamilton” choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler, composer Lin-Manuel Miranda, director Thomas Kail and music director Alex Lacamoire pose for a photo on Dec. 2, 2018. REUTERSGrenell slammed the decision as a “publicity stunt that will backfire,” claiming the musical’s creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and producer Jeffrey Seller “don’t want Republicans” at any of their shows.
With Post Wires
