KULTURKAMPF

'Yikes': Opera’s exit fuels criticism of Trump’s remake of the Kennedy Center

Erik De La Garza
January 9, 2026 
RAW STORY




U.S. President Donald Trump gestures while he poses for a picture at the presidential box at the Kennedy Center, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 17, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

The Washington National Opera’s decision to leave the Kennedy Center after more than five decades set off a political and cultural firestorm – and critics wasted no time framing it as a direct rebuke of President Donald Trump’s second-term overhaul of the iconic institution.

The New York Times, which broke the story Friday, described the move as “perhaps the largest artistic rebuke yet” to Trump’s campaign to remake the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in his own image. The opera company, which has performed at the center since 1971, cited declining attendance and donations over the last year as key factors behind the decision.

Reaction online and over the airwaves was swift and brutal.

"The Kennedy Center with no more operas but with the 'premiere' of 'Melania: The Movie' kind of says it all," conservative analyst Bill Kristol, the editor at large for The Bulwark, wrote in a post on X.

“The Trump administration inches closer to its unstated but deeply-held objective: CATS every weekend,” James Himberger, managing editor of The National Interest, posted to his X followers.

“It’s such a shame that a storied institution like the Kennedy Center is losing these kinds of performances – the culture, the art, the history,” CNN's Maria Cardona said on the network Friday.

“It’s an unfortunate situation all the way around,” Matt Gorman, Republican strategist, said when reacting to the news on CNN, adding that the MAGA-inspired moves are “having a financial cost.”

Journalist Justin O’Neill called the decision a “big deal for DC’s arts scene.” While X user TommyRulzNYC summed up the announcement in a single word: “YIKES.”

Opera dumps MAGA-fied Kennedy Center after 55 years amid Trump's takeover disaster

Daniel Hampton
January 9, 2026  

RAW STORY

The Washington National Opera is pulling the plug on its 55-year relationship with the Kennedy Center, marking another shocking rejection of President Donald Trump's makeover of the iconic venue.

The opera company's board voted Friday to terminate its affiliation and relocate performances from the Kennedy Center's 2,300-seat Opera House. The move comes after a chaotic year marked by artist cancellations, plummeting ticket sales, and donor revolt.

The New York Times reported the move Friday afternoon, calling it, possibly the "largest artistic rebuke yet to President Trump’s campaign to remake the Kennedy Center in his image."

“Today, the Washington National Opera announced its decision to seek an amicable early termination of its affiliation agreement with the Kennedy Center and resume operations as a fully independent nonprofit entity,” the opera said in a statement to The Times.

The fallout stems from Trump's aggressive takeover of the institution. Within weeks of his second term launch, the president installed himself as chairman and tapped political operative Richard Grenell as executive director. Grenell swiftly imposed controversial changes: a mandatory national anthem before a concert, revenue-neutral production requirements, and censorship concerns over politically themed operas.

Opera artistic director Francesca Zambello stated she was "deeply saddened to leave the Kennedy Center," but warned in November that Trump administration policies had "shattered" donor confidence and triggered a 40 percent drop in ticket revenues.

“If we cannot raise enough money, or sell enough tickets in there, we have to consider other options,” she said at the time.

The opera, established in 1957, has hosted legendary performers including Plácido Domingo and Renée Fleming. New Washington venues have been secured, though no leases are finalized. A major dispute looms over the opera's $30 million endowment.