Trump’s call to the new Kennedy Center board, which was obtained by CNN, came less than a week after he announced that he would install himself as the cultural institution’s chair
President Donald Trump shared his aspirations for the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in a recent phone call to the new board.
CNN’s Jake Tapper obtained leaked audio from the meeting, which included the president’s remarks about the institution’s new direction. The call came after Trump, 78, removed 18 Democratic appointees from the Kennedy Center’s board and ordered new board members to elect him chair of the institution, which was made final on Feb. 12.
In the leaked recording, he called all of the changes “a very exciting development.”
“It got very wokey and some people were not happy with it, and some people refused to go,” he said, seemingly referencing the board members he fired. “And we’re not going to have that.”
“I think we’re going to make it hot,” he added. “And we made the presidency hot, so this should be easy.”
The president thanked those present and said a few more people would be added to the board “to get up to what the number is supposed to be up to,” he said.
He again expressed excitement for the center’s future before concluding. “I think it’s, again, it’s something a lot of people wanted,” he claimed. “I think it’s something you’re going to enjoy for a long time to come.”
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Speaking on CNN about the recording he obtained, Tapper noted that the vote to make Trump chairman of the Kennedy Center was not unanimous, as the president claimed.
Some board members abstained, while others voted against, Tapper said — however, “he has packed [the board] with loyalists, so it was an overwhelming vote in favor of him.”
Two votes followed the chairman vote, Tapper continued, including one to replace Kennedy Center President Deborah Rutter — who was planning to retire later this year — and another to install longtime Trump ally Richard Grenell in her place.
Grenell is currently serving as Trump’s special presidential envoy for special missions.
Trump’s remarks in the closed-door Kennedy Center board meeting come less than a week after he announced his surprise plan to name himself chair and dismiss the current board.
In a post to his Truth Social platform on Feb. 7, Trump shared that he wanted to “make the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. GREAT AGAIN.”
“I have decided to immediately terminate multiple individuals from the Board of Trustees, including the Chairman, who do not share our Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture. We will soon announce a new Board, with an amazing Chairman, DONALD J. TRUMP!” he wrote.
He cited drag shows that the Kennedy Center has hosted as his reason for eyeing the position.
