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.
