Trump Sounds Off On 'Some Very Inappropriate Shows' Put On By Kennedy Center Before He Took Over

5/20/2025

At a White House event for Kennedy Center Board members, President Trump sounded off on shows he called "inappropriate" put on at the venue.

Transcript

00:00But it's been neglected very badly, and it needs an infusion of different things, including probably funds.

00:08But I think we're going to do very well when we get some money from Congress to fix it, because it's so important.

00:13The previous leadership wasted millions and millions of dollars and handed us a budget deficit of $26 million.

00:20Can you believe that?

00:22In addition, the programming was out of control with rampant political propaganda, DEI, and inappropriate shows.

00:28We had some very inappropriate shows, to put it, I think, to put it very nicely.

00:33They had dance parties for, quote, queer and trans youth.

00:37And I guess that's all right for certain people.

00:40Quote, I'm just quoting, I'm not saying it.

00:43Queer and trans youth, that wasn't working out too well.

00:46They had a Marxist anti-police performance, and they had lesbian-only Shakespeare, which is definitely, who thinks of these ideas?

00:58We're bringing our country back so fast.

01:03The military is so much better.

01:05Everything has just gone.

01:07They had people who are paying them $400,000, $500,000 a year to teach DEI.

01:11In just 12 weeks, our new board has balanced the budget.

01:15Think of that, in the 2026 budget.

01:17That's a pretty good job.

01:20Thank you very much.

01:21Thank you very much.

01:22Thank you very much.

01:23Thank you very much.

01:24Thank you very much.

01:25Thank you very much.

01:26That's amazing.

01:27So, the 2026, I told you, it was 25 million unders, balanced now for the fiscal year.

01:34Eliminated DEI initiatives in all cases.

01:37Brought back family-friendly programming that will attract large audiences once again, and launched

01:42a plan to renovate the building and reclaim the grandeur as a landmark, a really Washington landmark, which it always was.

01:49The Kennedy Center will also play an important role in our national celebration to commemorate the 250th anniversary of America's founding.

01:58So, we have three really big.

02:00We have that.

02:01We have the 250th anniversary of America's founding.

02:03That's a big deal.

02:04That's a big deal.

02:05And we have the Olympics, and we have the World Cup.

02:09And, you know, maybe I got lucky, because I got the Olympics and I got the World Cup.

02:16I did nothing to help the 250th anniversary.

02:20If I take credit for that one, then you'll say, I think he's exaggerating.

02:26But two of the three, I absolutely — I got the Olympics, I got the World Cup.

02:32And I said to myself when I got him, it was my first term I got him, President Obama would not take the calls from the Olympic Committee.

02:40He refused to take the calls, I think because he traveled to Oslo or wherever he went, and very far away, in order to get the Olympics — the previous Olympics.

02:51And I said, well, that's great.

02:53That means we got it, because what president would travel to come in fourth place, which is what we came in fourth place?

03:00And so he was so angry, he wouldn't take the calls.

03:02So I got a call from, at the time, the mayor of Los Angeles.

03:07Los Angeles is not looking too good with the water.

03:11We just sent so much water down their way, they didn't want to take it because it was bad for the environment.

03:15I said, no, water's good for the environment.

03:17They would have had it — when I told them to get it, they wouldn't have had the fires, or it would have been very small.

03:22But we took — we took so much, and we were looking at the Olympics, we were looking at other things, and Obama went there, and all that travel, all that everything.

03:35And think, who would go there unless you know the answer?

03:37You have to know the answer.

03:38You can't be embarrassed as president.

03:40No president's ever done that.

03:41And I give him credit, he went, but he should have known the answer.

03:45Let's go deal-making.

03:47And he didn't.

03:49And they put him in fourth, and he was so angry that it hurt his whole thing.

03:54He didn't want to talk to anybody.

03:56So I got a call from the mayor, and he said, sir, you're the president-elect.

03:59I was president-elect at the time.

04:01The president will not speak to the Olympic Committee.

04:04And I understand that, but a little bit his fault, I guess.

04:07He was very embarrassed by that.

04:10And I said, I'll speak to him.

04:12I spoke to this gentleman, who was obviously Scandinavian, seriously Scandinavian, and very nice.

04:20I couldn't get him off the phone, because he was so starved to love.

04:25He just kept, I must have had him for two hours, I couldn't.

04:28And I said, sir, I have to call him president-elect.

04:31Yes.

04:32All I said to him, yes, yes, yes, we will take good care.

04:35They wanted to know that if they choose us for the Olympics, will they, will we treat them nicely?

04:40And I said, we're going to treat you like so well, like you've never been treated.

04:44And then he wanted to talk about anything, because nobody would talk to him.

04:47Now we talk to him.

04:49And we got the Olympics.

04:50And then we got through Johnny, who's the boss.

04:53He's a friend of mine, and we got the World Cup.

04:55I got them both.

04:56And I said, man, I won't be president.

04:59I won't be president.

05:00I got the Olympics and the World Cup, and I won't be president.

05:03And they're going to forget that I got them.

05:05Nobody's going to mention it, because, you know, a little bit, that's the way life is.

05:10And then they rigged the election.

05:12And then I said, you know what I'll do?

05:14I'll run again, and I'll shove it up their ass.

05:16And that's what I did, and all of a sudden, I then realized, I said, you know what?

05:28I got the Olympics.

05:30I got the World Cup, and I got the 250.

05:33Look at the way this works out.

05:34So if they would have left us alone and wouldn't have cheated on the election and wouldn't have rigged it,

05:39I would have been retired right now.

05:41I would have been happily doing something else.

05:43And instead, they have me for four more years.

05:46So instead of putting forward programming that tears our country down and tears our country apart,

05:59the Kennedy Center should be the nation's premier venue for lifting up the best of our country

06:04and lifting up the American arts, theater, music, and culture.

06:08And together, it's really an honor to be with you.

06:10I mean, I have so many friends on the board.

06:12This is a hot board, just like we have a hot country.

06:14You know, we have a hot country.

06:15Our country was stone cold eight months ago.

06:18It all began on November 5th.

06:20Does everybody know that that was Election Day?

06:23And from that moment on, and then January 20th came, and what we've done.

06:28We have, you know, we have almost no inflation.

06:31Our energy prices are way down.

06:33Our gasoline costs are way down.

06:34Our groceries are way down.

06:36Eggs.

06:37Remember, they hit me with eggs my first week.

06:39So the fake news, those people right there, they're saying,

06:42Sir, eggs have gone through the roof.

06:45They were doubling and tripling eggs.

06:47I said, I don't know what I've just got here.

06:49Excuse me.

06:50And through our great, she's done a great job,

06:53Brooke Rollins, Secretary of Agriculture.

06:56Anyway, the prices came down.

06:57They didn't want us to.

06:58We had the egg roll here a couple of weeks ago for Easter.

07:01They didn't want us to order eggs.

07:03They wanted the eggs to be made out of plastic.

07:05They wanted plastic.

07:06I said, I'm not going to do that.

07:07But by the time it came around, the egg prices are way down.

07:11The groceries are way down.

07:12Everything is way down.

07:13We are just doing great.

07:15Think of it.

07:16No inflation.

07:17And we're taking in billions, hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs.

07:20We never did before.

07:21We got a hot country right now.

07:23We have a country that people are proud to be a part of.

07:26So we're going to honor the legacy of President Kennedy's great legacy.

07:30And we'll create the best and most beautiful home for the performing arts anywhere in the country.

07:35And many other things also.

07:37I want to thank you again.

07:38We're going to have some fun working together.

07:40We're going to make this a fun project.

07:41That's what I thought.

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