Vice President JD Vance was booed while attending a concert at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. on Thursday evening, the New York Times reported.
It was Vance’s first time there since President Donald Trump installed himself as chair of the institution, with Second Lady Usha Vance recently appointed by Trump to serve on the board. This comes after Trump let go of financier David M. Rubenstein as the longtime chairman, along with the center’s president of more than a decade Deborah F. Rutter. Three additional top staffers were also fired.
The Vances attended a performance by the National Symphony Orchestra. Vance, sitting in the box tier with Usha, was loudly booed ahead of the show for roughly 30 seconds while he was shown waving to the audience. A video of the incident was posted across social media.
Vance being booed “should challenge us all to commit to making the Kennedy Center a place where everyone is welcomed,” the center’s new president Richard Grenell wrote on social media Friday.
Despite the incident, the couple stayed for the entire concert. However, due to additional security measures, the event started 20 minutes late.
The incident underscores the discontent among many attendees with Trump’s choice to replace the Kennedy Center’s previously bipartisan board, swapping out Biden appointees for his own.
For his part, Trump did not attend the Kennedy Center Honors because some of the celebrated artists criticized him.
Performers, like actress Issa Rae and musician Rhiannon Giddens, dropped out in protest of Trump’s calls to get rid of “woke” influences on the center, including drag shows and “anti-American propaganda.” The center has seen major program changes, among them, the cancellation of the musical Hamilton next year. Plans for what will come have not yet been announced.
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