Trump’s Kennedy Center boss fumes as another musician bails, invites non-political performers

WASHINGTON, DC: The Kennedy Center boss has slammed a second musician who backed out of performing at the iconic venue.

The performing arts institution’s president took aim at a banjo player who pulled the plug on a scheduled appearance, as tensions simmer over President Donald Trump’s growing influence on the historic center.

Bela Fleck, a celebrated banjo virtuoso and multiple Grammy Award winner, announced Tuesday that he’s canceling his upcoming performance with the National Symphony Orchestra, saying the venue no longer feels like a space for art.

“I have withdrawn from my upcoming performance with the NSO at The Kennedy Center,” Fleck wrote on X. “Performing there has become charged and political, at an institution where the focus should be on the music."

“I look forward to playing with the NSO another time in the future when we can together share and celebrate art,” he added.

Fleck is the latest in a growing list of artists who have backed out of Kennedy Center appearances in recent weeks, following the White House’s announcement that the venue would be renamed the 'Trump-Kennedy Center.'

Richard Grenell fires back

Richard Grenell, who became interim president of the Kennedy Center under Trump in February, didn’t let the announcement slide.

Grenell responded on X Tuesday evening and accused Fleck of turning the very thing he criticized into a political statement. “You just made it political and caved to the woke mob who wants you to perform for only Lefties. This mob pressuring you will never be happy until you only play for Democrats,” Grenell wrote.

“The Trump Kennedy Center believes all people are welcome - Democrats and Republicans and people uninterested in politics. We want performers who aren’t political - who simply love entertaining everyone regardless of who they voted for,” he added.

The National Symphony Orchestra struck a more measured tone.

Jean Davidson, the orchestra’s executive director, responded to Fleck’s decision in a statement shared with The New York Times.

“Our audience will miss him, and we hope to welcome him back in the future,” she said.

Trump takeover sparks cancellations

The controversy has been building for months. Several artists canceled performances at the Kennedy Center in late December because they were opposed to Trump’s takeover of the institution and efforts to rename it.

In February, Trump dismissed several Kennedy Center board members and replaced them with allies. He was later named chair of the Kennedy Center. 

Shortly before that, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced plans to change the venue’s name on December 18, claiming the board 'voted unanimously' to include Trump’s name. Workers were later spotted physically adding his name to the building’s sign.

“Congratulations to President Donald J. Trump, and likewise, congratulations to President Kennedy, because this will be a truly great team long into the future! The building will no doubt attain new levels of success and grandeur,” Leavitt wrote on X.

Pushback grows over renaming authority

Of course, Trump’s attempt to rebrand the Kennedy Center hasn’t gone over quietly. Critics have argued that only Congress has the authority to officially change the venue’s name.

As cancellations mounted late last month, Grenell lashed out at the artists pulling out and placed blame squarely on the institution’s former leadership.

“The artists who are now canceling shows were booked by the previous far left leadership,” he wrote on X. 

“Their actions prove that the previous team was more concerned about booking far-left political activists rather than artists willing to perform for everyone regardless of their political beliefs. Boycotting the Arts to show you support the Arts is a form of derangement syndrome. The arts are for everyone, and the left is mad about it,” Grenell added.

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