Podcast Summary: Inside Trump’s Artless Takeover of the Kennedy Center

The Political Scene | The New Yorker
Host: Tyler Foggatt
Guest: Katie Waldman, Staff Writer at The New Yorker
Date: December 11, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode investigates the dramatic transformation of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts under Donald Trump’s second presidency, focusing on his personal chairmanship and the ripple effects through the institution’s staff, programming, and cultural influence. Tyler Foggatt interviews Katie Waldman about her in-depth reporting on the politicized shift, including the recent Kennedy Center Honors, changes in staff and donors, and what Trump’s approach to cultural institutions says about his personal aesthetics and political agenda.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The 2025 Kennedy Center Honors: A Trumpian Selection

• Unique Lineup:
  • Honorees: Country singer George Strait, glam rock band Kiss, Broadway actor Michael Crawford, disco singer Gloria Gaynor, and actor Sylvester Stallone.
  • Tyler Foggatt notes (04:49): “Tom Cruise declined an invitation to the honors...citing scheduling conflicts.”
• Trump’s Personal Taste:
  • The honoree list reflects “a composite portrait almost of, like, one sensibility. That sensibility being Trump’s.” (Katie Waldman, 05:22)
• Change in Atmosphere:
  • Katie describes the event as “very MAGA, honestly” and likened the crowd to “a Young Republicans convention...a very sort of clean cut, clean shaven, traditional gender roles, kind of homogenous crowd.” (07:32)

2. The Politicization and Reshaping of the Kennedy Center

• Shifted Focus:
  • New programming is “supposed to please or represent Trump, [whereas] the political agenda of the person in power should [historically not] in any way shape what is on the stage at the Kennedy Center.” (Katie Waldman, 16:37)
• Loss of Diversity:
  • The latest class of honorees contrasts prior years, being less diverse: “Gloria Gaynor is a woman of color, and she’s a woman. Everyone else is a white guy. And I don’t think that was an accident at all.” (Katie Waldman, 07:00)
• Staff Changes and Exits:
  • Over 100 have left, with layoffs, firings, and voluntary departures. Atmosphere described as: “No one says, ‘How are you?’ anymore. They just say, ‘Hope you’re doing okay.’” (Katie Waldman, 18:08)
  • New hires include those with loyalty to Trump or visible opposition to “woke” or DEI programming, often lacking arts experience.

3. Programming & Finances under Trump

• Declining Ticket Sales:
  • “Ticket sales are in the toilet...capacity is still quite low...falling far short of their budgets, which is pretty unprecedented for the center.” (Katie Waldman, 21:43)
• Donor Shift:
  • Corporate sponsors are up, but historic individual donors are rescinding bequests or asking for refunds.
  • “Maybe cyberjet gives a couple million dollars, but no one at cyberjet actually cares about the ballet.” (Katie Waldman, 22:40)
• Operational Challenges:
  • Layoffs, loss of institutional knowledge, and new leadership unfamiliar with arts administration: “You need people who understand what an usher is.” (Tyler Foggatt, 23:58)
  • Ceremony snafus observed—“the house lights came up a little bit early,” “striking crews didn’t seem to know what they were doing.” (Katie Waldman, 24:06)

4. Trump’s Cultural and Aesthetic Vision

• Personal Tastes:
  • Trump’s favorite era is the 1980s: “He’s frozen in a lot of ways in the 80s...80s hair bands, Kiss...the Village People...Broadway shows, Cats, Les Mis, Lee Greenwood.” (Katie Waldman, 28:26)
  • Waldman notes Trump’s need for cultural validation: “He sort of has an idea of what he wants culture to reflect under his presidency...He wants some of that glamour.” (26:26)
• Trump vs. MAGA Aesthetics:
  • Trump’s tastes are sometimes at odds with the broader MAGA movement: “There’s a distinction in some ways between the Trump aesthetic and the MAGA aesthetic.” (Tyler Foggatt, 32:10)
  • The host and guest discuss how Trump’s love for anthems like “YMCA” complicates assumptions about cultural conservatism (32:09).

5. Broader Political and Cultural Influence

• Executive Power & Culture:
  • Trump inserts himself into cultural production (e.g. pushing for a Rush Hour franchise revival, staging a planned UFC fight at the White House): “He is using his enormous, outsized power to do just that.” (Katie Waldman, 34:49)
• Comparison to Past Presidents:
  • Kennedy and Obama referenced as previous presidents with strong cultural interests, but “in a way, presidents are poison for the arts because, like, once Obama...puts a book on his...summer list...all the book critics are like, oh, well, I guess I’ll scratch that off my list.” (Katie Waldman, 36:10)

6. Symbolism of the White House Ballroom

• Reflecting Trump’s Legacy:
  • The new, oversized ballroom—“like a mullet where, like, all of it is the party in the back. Right. And so...that sends a message.” (Katie Waldman, 37:02)
  • Seen as part of the “Mar-A-Lago-fication of America...” (Tyler Foggatt, 38:41)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the New Kennedy Center Aesthetic:
  “It was very MAGA, honestly...it felt like a Young Republicans convention.”
  —Katie Waldman (07:32)

• On Programming and Donors:
  “Maybe cyberjet gives a couple million dollars, but no one at cyberjet actually cares about the ballet.”
  —Katie Waldman (22:40)

• Trump’s Cultural Project:
  “He wants a trapdoor into people’s souls and he thinks that culture is that trapdoor and not politics.”
  —Katie Waldman (30:57)

• On the Dangers of Presidential Influence:
  “In a way, presidents are poison for the arts...once Obama...puts a book on his...summer list...all the book critics are like, oh, well, I guess I’ll scratch that off my list.”
  —Katie Waldman (36:10)

• On the Ballroom as a Monument:
  “It just dwarfs the rest of the White House...like a mullet where, like, all of it is the party in the back.”
  —Katie Waldman (37:02)

• Summary of the Moment:
  “Yeah, the Mar-A-Lago-fication of America. That’s what’s happening here.”
  —Tyler Foggatt (38:41)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:14] Introduction of episode theme and overview of Kennedy Center changes
• [03:37] Kennedy Center Honors: Trump’s influence on selection and event
• [07:32] Firsthand experience at the Honors: The new “MAGA” vibe
• [12:31] The Kennedy Center’s cultural ecosystem—how it’s structured and why it matters
• [16:37] Analysis of government involvement and Trump’s unprecedented intervention
• [17:59] Staff exodus, new hiring practices, and “finger on the scale” management
• [21:43] Conflicting narratives about finances, boycotts, and donor changes
• [24:06] Event and operational mishaps under new management
• [26:26] Trump’s complex relationship to arts and culture
• [28:26] Trump's aesthetic roots in the 1980s
• [32:10] Distinction between Trump’s and MAGA’s cultural vision
• [33:26] Discussion of Trump’s impact on national cultural trends (Paramount, UFC)
• [35:02] Comparison to Kennedy and Obama, and cultural leadership from the presidency
• [37:02] The symbolism of the new White House ballroom and Trump’s aesthetic legacy
• [38:41] Closing thoughts: “Mar-A-Lago-fication of America”

Tone & Language

Candid, satirical, and analytic—reflecting the New Yorker’s signature blend of humor and depth. Tyler and Katie maintain an engaging, conversational style, punctuated by dry wit, disbelief, and cultural critique.

Conclusion

The episode offers a compelling look at the complex interplay between politics and culture under Trump’s renewed leadership, particularly at the emblematic Kennedy Center. Katie Waldman’s observations reveal a deeply personalized, nostalgic, and sometimes paradoxical Trumpian vision driving changes across one of America’s most prestigious arts institutions—raising questions about the future of public culture in a polarized era.