‘We don’t need woke’: Trump denounces Kennedy Center programming despite admitting he never saw any of its shows
President Donald Trump accused the Kennedy Center of having shows that are “woke.” Because of this, the president intends to take over the center, fire its board members, and become chairman himself.
In a short interview on February 9, Trump was asked why he wanted to be the chairman of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The theater is also recognized as the national center for culture in the United States. Trump simply answered, “Because I want to make sure that it runs properly. We don’t need ‘woke’ at the Kennedy Center. Some of the shows were terrible. It was a disgrace that they were even put on.” These were obviously strong sentiments from the president, and he was asked to elaborate on it by the interviewer.
“Have you seen any shows there? How do you know they were terrible?” Trump’s next answer couldn’t be any less shocking. He replied, “I didn’t go, no. I get reports. They were so bad, I didn’t wanna go.” On the basis of reports and without having gone himself, Trump believes that whatever’s shown at the Kennedy Center is “woke.” Regardless of the stories told, the plays performed, or the artists featured, the scare of woke has put the president off from even attending the shows at the Kennedy Center.
In a separate interview on February 11, Trump announced that he has already taken over the Kennedy Center. “We didn’t like what they were showing and various other things.” Determined to stir a culture war, Trump added, “We’re going to make sure it’s going to be good and it’s not going to be woke. There’s no more woke in this country.” The president blames wokeness for costing the United States its reputation, but what does the president exactly mean by woke?
There’s no better place to look than the president’s Truth Social account. He appointed Ric Grenell, his foreign policy advisor, as the interim executive director of the Kennedy Center. ” Trump’s social media post said the quiet part out loud.
Essentially, his plan to usher in the next “Golden Age of American Arts and Culture” is to clamp down on queer art and, possibly, plays that inspire revolutions or criticize systemic issues in the United States.
It seems that First Amendment rights are reserved for people in power who want to dictate the flow of culture. Social media users generally found Trump’s remarks absurd. After all, he seems to have many feelings against something he hasn’t seen or heard firsthand. His anger and fear of the shows at the Kennedy Center are largely driven by stories he’d been told. One mused on X, “Dictators want to control the press and all forms of media.” The president is unable to control Hollywood as an entity, so perhaps this is his means of participating in the culture war. Another X user was perplexed that Trump is criticizing shows he’s never seen. They wrote, “That’s like a food critic reviewing a restaurant from the parking lot.”
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