What is the future of the Kennedy Center?

President Trump is taking center stage at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C."We are going to make a lot of changes," he said earlier this month, "including the seats, the decor, pretty much everything.

It needs a lot of work."He's directing many of those changes as the new chairman of the board.Out are all of President Joe Biden's appointees, replaced with Trump allies.

The Trump White House says an overhaul is needed because the marquee arts center is, in their words, "woke … and broke."Last month, Deborah Rutter was fired as president of the Kennedy Center after serving for more than a decade.Asked whether the arts institution is broke, Rutter replied, "The Kennedy Center has the most complicated financial model, and that is true of every nonprofit arts organization."It has a budget of $268 million, with $43 million coming from the federal government.

In 2023, the Kennedy Center had a $6 million surplus, even though it is not supposed to be a money-making enterprise."We're a nonprofit organization," Rutter said.

"It's not intended to make money." Its budget comes mostly from donations.Billionaire businessman and former chairman David Rubenstein has given more than $100 million.

He, too, was fired last month.Rutter said, "To have us both leaving at the same time does cause me some worry, because of the sense of understanding of structure, decision-making, how we go about interpreting our mission, all of those kinds of things."The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts was founded in 1971 as a national cultural center and memorial to President John F.

Kennedy.Its annual honors ceremony, which airs on CBS, features the best in music, theater and dance.But now, conservatives charge the center is "too liberal," highlighting three drag events last year, including a "Broadway Drag Brunch." Asked whether it was a mistake to host drag shows, Rutter replied, "I don't think so.

I believe that everybody in America has the oppo...