The Place Trump Loves To Brag About Is Slowly Dying After His Takeover

"It's in tremendous disrepair, as is a lot of the rest of our country, most of it because of bad management," President Donald Trump said in a Kennedy Center Board meeting back in March 2025. The famous performing arts center, located in D.C., was one of the first targets of Trump's second term. Just one month after becoming President in 2025, the former "Apprentice" host appointed himself as chair of the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees. With his new position, he has vowed to reestablish the center as a powerhouse and continue renovations of the facility, despite the fact that it was already a lauded hub of American art prior to his intervention. In theory, completely overhauling the Kennedy Center should be easy with his board of selected loyalists. However, given Trump's tacky changes to the Oval Office, a makeover nightmare could be in store for the performing arts center.  

The president continued in his conversation with the board, saying the center is a "very big part of the fabric of Washington, D.C.," and that efforts should be put into making, "our capitol great again." Yet, following the installation of Trump and his new board of trustees, the iconic Kennedy Center has been dying under the direction of the new management.

Since the president's involvement with the Kennedy Center, ticket sales have plummeted, as the center continues to struggle to meet the sales from 2024. In fact, ticket subscriptions are down 36%, adding up to a loss of $1.6 million, according to The Guardian. Trump came face to face with these losses when sitting among the audience for the Kennedy Center's production of "Les Misérables" in June 2025, and video footage caught prior to the show captures the politician being greeted by boos from attendees. The filming of the interaction depicts both the distaste about the president's new role in the center, and the lasting effects of the new management, as empty seats are visible throughout the theater. 

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to companies and organizations that flounder under the leadership of President Trump. Prior to his presidency, Trump painted himself as a real estate mogul, yet he has been subject to many real estate challenges over the years. He ran on the basis of being a businessman, yet has a business ban in the state of New York. It seems that in spite of Trump's proclaimed love for business, real businesses hurt under him.