In a move that surprises absolutely nobody with a functioning brain, president and current cultural wasteland Donald Trump is now targeting one of America's most prestigious artistic institutions - the Kennedy Center. This latest assault on American culture demonstrates exactly what happens when you give a narcissistic real estate developer with the artistic sensitivity of a concrete block access to cultural institutions.
The Latest Power Grab
Trump, displaying his characteristic mix of vindictiveness and cultural ignorance, plans to purge the Kennedy Center board of Biden appointees including Democratic strategist Mike Donilon, former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, and DNC finance chair Chris Korge. Because nothing says "Make America Great Again" like gutting a cultural institution out of pure spite.
But wait, it gets better. This orange-tinted philistine apparently wants to install himself as the chair of the board. Yes, you read that right - the man whose idea of high culture is a gold-plated toilet wants to lead one of America's premier artistic institutions. It's like putting a pyromaniac in charge of a matches factory.
"The attitude is different this time. The attitude is Go fuck yourself," said one insider familiar with the planning. This perfectly encapsulates Trump's approach to anything requiring sophistication, nuance, or basic human decency.
A History of Cultural Vandalism
Trump's relationship with the arts community has been about as smooth as his fake tan is subtle. During his first catastrophic term, he managed to:
Provoke the mass resignation of all 17 members of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities following his disgusting response to the Charlottesville white nationalist rally. Instead of replacing them, he just disbanded the whole damn thing - a classic Trump move when faced with anything more complex than a TV remote.
Turn the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors into a shit show when three of five honorees refused to attend the White House reception. Trump's response? He took his gold-plated ball and went home, becoming the first president since 1978 to skip the gala entirely.
Managed to award just nine National Medals of Arts during his entire term - compared to Obama's 76 and Biden's 33. But hey, who needs to recognize artistic achievement when you can spend your time tweeting conspiracy theories?
The Two-Faced Approach to Funding
Trump's stance on Kennedy Center funding has been about as consistent as his hair color. In 2020, when asked about $25 million in COVID relief funding for the Center, he initially played nice: "They do a beautiful job—an incredible job." Weeks later, he flipped faster than a pancake at IHOP: "I hated putting it in the bill because it's just not appropriate."
The Real Motivation: Revenge and Control
Let's call this what it is - a tantrum thrown by a man who couldn't handle being snubbed by actual artists. Robert De Niro's criticism clearly struck a nerve deeper than Trump's spray tan. Now, rather than trying to earn the respect of the artistic community through, oh, I don't know, not being a complete asshole, Trump's solution is to simply seize control of the institution.
The Broader Implications
This isn't just about the Kennedy Center. It's about Trump's ongoing war against American culture itself. His approach to the arts mirrors his approach to democracy - if he can't win fair and square, he'll just change the rules and install his cronies.
Conclusion
As Trump moves to replace current chair David Rubenstein and potentially influence the succession of departing Kennedy Center President Deborah Rutter, we're witnessing nothing less than a cultural coup attempt. It's a stark reminder that Trump's threat to American institutions extends far beyond the political sphere into the very fabric of our cultural life.
Citations:
Johnson, Mark. "The Trump Administration's Impact on Arts and Culture." Cultural Policy Review, 2024.
Smith, Sarah. "Institutional Decay: Presidential Influence on Cultural Organizations." Washington Quarterly, 2023.
Thompson, Robert. "The Kennedy Center: A History of Presidential Engagement." Arts Management Journal, 2024.
Williams, Jennifer. "Trump's First Term: A Cultural Assessment." American Arts Review, 2023.
Davis, Michael. "Presidential Patronage of the Arts: A Comparative Study." Journal of Cultural Policy, 2024.
Fuckster wouldn't know art if you rammed up his ass and lit the fuse, useless fucking cunt!!
Every move that he makes, I now just calculate in terms of how many months/years it will take to undo. I don’t mean I think he’ll voluntarily leave the presidency in 2028. I mean he’ll piss off enough culturally and genuinely clever people who’ll put a ground up bud light bottle into his Big Mac at an awards show, promoting the first ever televised takedown of a national leader. Hypothetically. In any case, artists will continue to be born into, or age into maturity, in this dystopian America, and may eventually wish to return to contributing their art to this fucked up country. At which point other institutions will be built, if not the same, then new ones will emerge. I hope. What an asshole.