Donald Trump’s Kennedy Center chief to step down after 13 months
Donald Trump has revealed that the Kennedy Center President, Richard Grenell, will no longer head the arts venue that has become symbolic of Trump’s power.
Instead, Grenell, who is a close ally of Trump’s, will be replaced by Matt Floca, the Kennedy Center’s vice president of facilities operations.
Writing on Truth Social, Trump shared, “I am pleased to announce that Matt Floca, subject to the approval of the Board of Directors, will be named the Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director, of THE TRUMP KENNEDY CENTER where, as Vice President of Operations, Matt has helped us achieve tremendous progress in bringing the Center to the highest level of Excellence!”
He went on to thank Grenell for the “outstanding” work he has done so far for the arts and cultures centre. Grenell was welcomed into the leadership team during Trump’s overhaul of the institution in February 2025.
During his time leading the venue, a wave of artists pulled out of scheduled performances at the venue due to the symbolic name change to the “Trump-Kennedy Center” voted by the board of trustees, hand-selected by the President.
In response, Grenell blamed the “left-wing media”, writing on X in December, “I have just been informed by some booked artists that they are receiving emails from [CNN] and [The Washington Post] encouraging them to boycott the Trump Kennedy Center. The legacy media are left-wing activists – and they are open about it.”
This comes a month after the President revealed that the location is set to close in the coming months in order to undergo two years of renovation works.
Explaining this decision, he wrote online, “I have determined that The Trump Kennedy Center, if temporarily closed for construction, revitalisation, and complete rebuilding, can be, without question, the finest performing arts facility of its kind, anywhere in the world.”
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