How Donald Trump is upending American culture
| Washington
President Donald Trump has already made his mark, literally, on Washington鈥檚 John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Days before the center was to host one of its highest-profile events of the year, the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, a marble carver added聽 to the list of chairmen inside the center鈥檚 Hall of States.
To one Kennedy Center staffer, a holdover from the 鈥渂efore times,鈥� as this person put it, the sight of President Trump鈥檚 name carved onto the building was yet another reminder of the cultural revolution underway. So, too, were the newly hung 11-by-17-inch portraits of Mr. Trump, first lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and second lady Usha Vance within inches of the Concert Hall stage door.聽
Why We Wrote This
President Trump has ordered the Smithsonian Institution to promote 鈥淎merican greatness,鈥� taken over the chairmanship of the Kennedy Center, and targeted universities. To some, his cultural agenda is reminiscent of a Stalin-esque playbook. Others say it鈥檚 a needed correction to 鈥渨oke-ism.鈥�
鈥淪o every artist who passes by has to walk under Trump鈥檚 glaring face,鈥� says the staffer, who asked to speak anonymously for fear of retribution.
Weeks after Mr. Trump鈥檚 takeover of Washington鈥檚 premier cultural venue 鈥� a move aimed at countering 鈥渨oke鈥� influences and 鈥渁nti-American propaganda,鈥� he says 鈥� the shock to the district鈥檚 arts world has not subsided. Many Kennedy Center performers have canceled or postponed their shows. Sales have plummeted, hurting the center鈥檚 bottom line. Free tickets have been made available for some performances just to put 鈥渂utts in seats,鈥� as one offer of tickets to the ballet 鈥淐opp茅lia鈥� recently put it on a neighborhood email list.
It鈥檚 just one of many examples of Mr. Trump鈥檚 increasingly aggressive posture toward American cultural and intellectual life.
In late March, Mr. Trump ordered the Smithsonian Institution鈥檚 many museums, libraries, and research centers to promote 鈥淎merican greatness.鈥� The described a concerted effort by the left to 鈥渞ewrite鈥� history, recasting America鈥檚 鈥渦nparalleled legacy of advancing liberty, individual rights, and human happiness鈥� as instead 鈥渞acist, sexist, [and] oppressive,鈥� and it tapped Vice President Vance to oversee the removal of 鈥渋mproper ideology鈥� from all Smithsonian properties. Mr. Trump also directed the Department of Interior to determine whether public monuments and other memorials have been altered since 2020 to 鈥減erpetuate a false reconstruction of American history.鈥�
He鈥檚 targeted America鈥檚 higher education as well. His threats to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars in federal research grants from major universities 鈥� in Harvard鈥檚 case, $9 billion 鈥� have led to lawsuits, protests, and, in some cases, capitulation by the schools.
Longtime Trump-watchers say they didn鈥檛 necessarily expect all these particular moves, but they see a certain logic at play.
鈥淭aking over the Kennedy Center seems of a piece with taking over, well, everything else,鈥� says Gwenda Blair, author of a biography on three generations of the Trump family.
The cultural coup de main has flown under the radar in some ways, amid all the other disruptive policy moves.
Mr. Trump鈥檚 special adviser, Elon Musk, is quickly dismantling, downsizing, and reorienting government agencies. The administration鈥檚 aggressive deportation of immigrants has roiled the courts, and his unprecedented moves on tariffs sent financial markets into a tailspin. Big law firms that were targeted with punitive executive orders have agreed to pro bono work related to Mr. Trump鈥檚 interests.
But amid all the disruption and norm-breaking, it鈥檚 Mr. Trump鈥檚 apparently keen interest in shaping American culture that may be most intriguing. To critics, it鈥檚 nothing less than a sign of his authoritarian bent 鈥� reminiscent of the Stalin-esque playbook that made government diktats over artistic expression a feature of the old Soviet Union. To supporters, Mr. Trump鈥檚 efforts to steer America鈥檚 stories, collective history, and creative expression in a more traditional direction are a long overdue correction to 鈥渨oke-ism.鈥�
And while that conservative cultural agenda may seem minor compared with things like economic policy or immigration, its influence can be broad. In many ways, the stories America tells about its citizens and its history are fundamental to its sense of itself.
Mr. Trump has revived his 1776 Commission, a 鈥減atriotic education鈥� project from his first term. And he is clearly focused on July 4, 2026, the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. One of his first focused on planning 鈥渁 grand celebration worthy of the momentous occasion.鈥�
A cultural phenomenon himself
The president鈥檚 interest in American culture aligns with his own backstory 鈥� first as 聽and, over time, as a cultural phenomenon himself. Be it as a in the 1970s and 鈥�80s or as star of the reality TV show 鈥淭he Apprentice,鈥� Mr. Trump honed his knack for celebrity and ability to tap into the zeitgeist early on, ultimately taking it into politics 鈥� and straight to the White House.
鈥淗e鈥檚 had a cultural cachet and actively pursued it most of his adult life,鈥� says Henry Olsen, an expert on populism at the conservative Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington. 鈥淵ou had Trump Airways, Trump Tower, the Trump Taj Mahal, the Trump divorces and marriages 鈥� and that鈥檚 before we even get to 鈥楾he Apprentice.鈥欌��
It may well be Mr. Trump鈥檚 past as a TV performer and producer that best prepared him to run for and win the presidency, says Bruce Schulman, history professor at Boston University and author of 鈥淭he Seventies: The Great Shift in American Culture, Politics, and Society.鈥�
He cites a famous line from former President and Hollywood actor Ronald Reagan: 鈥淗ow can a president not be an actor?鈥�
Mr. Trump is also, nearing age 80, rooted culturally in a bygone era, when being on the cover of Time magazine was a big deal and the Village People were a campy and catchy new group. comes straight from the 1970s and 鈥�80s,聽with the Rolling Stones, Elton John, and ABBA in heavy rotation.
Mr. Trump himself gives off a 鈥渢hrowback鈥� vibe that, combined with appeals to masculinity, only enhances his charm to some people. That鈥檚 reinforced by the celebrities around him: Rapper Kid Rock, whose last song on the Billboard 100 was in 2008, recently joined the president for an Oval Office signing of an executive order on ticket scalping; he and retired 1980s wrestler Hulk Hogan were both prominently featured at the Republican National Convention last summer. And Mr. Trump鈥檚 signature rally dance 鈥� which caught on in the NFL last season, in a realm that seeks to be apolitical 鈥� is yet more evidence of his cultural impact.
Nostalgia for bygone decades goes hand in hand with an ideological cultural agenda that many conservatives have been waiting for decades to see fulfilled. To them, Mr. Trump represents their last, best chance to turn back the tides of leftist messaging that they say pervades American culture, from Hollywood movies, theater, and TV, to schools, libraries, and museums.
鈥淟iberal institutions like museums, like the Kennedy Center, like universities, in particular, have to various degrees embraced or adopted the values of lots of liberation movements of the 1960s, from civil rights to feminism to gay rights,鈥� says Andrew Hartman, history professor at Illinois State University and author of 鈥淎 War for the Soul of America: A History of the Culture Wars.鈥�
Until recently, Professor Hartman adds, conservatives haven鈥檛 felt empowered to do much but complain and create their own counterinstitutions, such as think tanks. Now, he says, Mr. Trump鈥檚 return to office is a vindication of sorts 鈥� especially after two impeachments and multiple felony convictions 鈥� and 鈥淭hose around him feel like he can do whatever he wants, including take over the Kennedy Center.鈥�
鈥淗amilton鈥� is out, but 鈥淟es Mis鈥� goes on
The takeover of the Kennedy Center 鈥� the capital鈥檚 cultural hub 鈥� is also likely meant to tweak the Washington elite, observers say. Notably, Mr. Trump didn鈥檛 cancel its federal subsidy, as he has many other federal expenditures. Instead, he has positioned himself to make programming decisions 鈥� including potentially hosting the Kennedy Center Honors, since he鈥檚 鈥渢he king of ratings,鈥� the president .
At the session, Mr. Trump mused about awarding posthumous honors to Luciano Pavarotti, Elvis Presley, and Babe Ruth. He also gave a thumbs-up to the musical 鈥淟es Mis茅rables,鈥� which will come to the Kennedy Center this summer. And he criticized 鈥淗amilton,鈥� whose planned 2026 run was canceled by creator Lin-Manuel Miranda after the Trump takeover.
The president鈥檚 new role hasn鈥檛 resulted in 鈥渁ll MAGA all the time鈥� programming. The Mark Twain prize ceremony honoring comedian Conan O鈥橞rien went on as scheduled, including a supporting cast of sharp-tongued A-list comics. (The show will air May 4 on Netflix.)
The free offerings at the Kennedy Center鈥檚 Millennium Stage also that might appeal to a more liberal crowd 鈥� racially diverse spoken-word artists, a Cuban rapper, a singer who combines 鈥渢raditional jazz scat with Native vocables.鈥�
Singer Eilen Jewell, long ago scheduled to perform at the Millennium Stage on April 10, justified her decision to proceed .
鈥淚 do for the Kennedy Center the same as I do for my country,鈥� Ms. Jewell wrote. 鈥淚 stay and fight for the good that鈥檚 left in it.鈥�
Still, the Kennedy Center employee who spoke to the Monitor depicts an atmosphere of fear mixed with determination among remaining staff, after senior leaders were fired and replaced with Trump loyalists.
Ric Grenell, who has fulfilled many roles in both Trump terms and is currently the center鈥檚 interim director, is on site more now than he was initially, the staffer says. But he has yet to have an all-staff meeting or formally introduce himself to the staff.聽
Key members of Mr. Grenell's team appear to have no experience in the arts, nonprofits, or philanthropy, the source adds. One item on the new team鈥檚 agenda: figuring out how to have Mr. Trump on site without getting booed.聽聽last month at a National Symphony Orchestra concert.聽
The new front office has "floated MAGA-only nights, also patron advisories,鈥� the anonymous staffer writes in a text.聽
The Kennedy Center and White House did not respond to requests for comment.
But the staffer makes clear that they and their colleagues aren鈥檛 giving up without a fight.
鈥淎 lot of us, on a day by day basis,鈥� the source says, 鈥減ick ourselves up and reenter this building with a spirit of preserving the mission, doing what we can to not abandon the ship.鈥�
