WaPo Reports Kennedy Center Ticket Sales Collapse Under Trump

Kathryn Wilkens Oct 31st, 2025, 3:44 pm

AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Nearly nine months after President Donald Trump installed himself as chair of the Kennedy Center and tapped loyalist Richard Grenell to run operations, ticket sales at the nation’s premier performing-arts venue have cratered, according to a analysis of internal and public data.

Trump and Grenell loudly blamed the Center’s previous leadership for weak programming and financial mismanagement — Grenell declaring in March that it was “too woke and niche” and Trump promising a “hot” new era. Instead, ticket sales have collapsed to their lowest levels in years.

According to the , from Sept. 3 to Oct. 19, nearly 43% of seats at the Kennedy Center’s three

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