Trump’s Kennedy Center ‘Hostile Takeover’ Chills DC Arts Community

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Arts leaders, community organizers and artists fear censorship, funding loss as Trump aims to “make the arts great again”

President Donald Trump named himself chairman at the Kennedy Center. Arts organizations are feeling the heat ever since (Christopher Smith/TheWrap)
President Donald Trump named himself chairman at the Kennedy Center. Arts organizations are feeling the heat ever since (Christopher Smith/TheWrap)

The Washington, D.C., arts community is split between defiant protest and quiet resignation since President Donald Trump took control of one of its national treasures, the Kennedy Center.

“It’s a hostile takeover,” said Tara Hoot, a drag queen who has performed at the Center and took part in protests this month. “I find it incredibly upsetting that a sitting president uses a marginalized group — the LGBTQ population — to attack the Kennedy Center and to attack the arts and how we tell our stories,” referring to Trump targeting drag shows at the center.

Trump appointed himself as chair of the Kennedy Center on Feb.

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