Caroline Kennedy is expected to meet with President Trump regarding his dramatic overhaul of the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, DailyMail.com has learned.
Joe Biden’s Ambassador to Australia has been compelled to step in and address the chaos at the landmark cultural institution after the president fired its board members and appointed himself as chairman this week.
Kennedy, 67, who is Emeritus Trustee at the D.C.-based center, named in honor of her father John F. Kennedy, is set to meet with Trump along with her daughter, Rose Kennedy Schlossberg, according to insiders.
Sources with knowledge of the situation say Rose, 36, and her friends have bemoaned the Trump administration’s recent policies targeting trans athletes and intends to support her mother in addressing the drama at the institution that bears their family’s namesake.
‘Rose told friends that she and her mother are set to have a private meeting with Trump over the Kennedy Center after he ousted the board members and vowed to end its drag show events,’ a source told DailyMail.com.
Rose, who lives with her wife in Ojai, California, is the older daughter of Caroline Kennedy and Ed Schlossberg, and one of JFK’s three grandchildren, but has been known to avoid the spotlight and the political chaos that often surrounds her famous family.
It’s unclear in what capacity she will accompany her mother to the meeting with the president, however, it is likely she has a vested interest in the center’s legacy as a filmmaker and artist.
Trump announced plans to fire trustees and the chairman from the Kennedy Center and put himself in charge last week, in a bid to take over programming and to specifically put an end to drag shows ‘targeting children.’
Caroline Kennedy is expected to meet with Trump following the massive shakeup at the Kennedy Center that saw him fire the board and appoint himself as chairman this week
The move represents a swift takeover by Trump and his allies of a cultural institution in Washington that is known for its signature Kennedy Center Honors performances and is home to the National Symphony Orchestra and the Washington National Opera
The president proceeded with an overhaul of the center on Wednesday after criticizing its former leadership, becoming chairman of the organization, and firing its president, Deborah Rutter.
The Kennedy Center said in a statement that its board of trustees, newly filled with appointees by Trump, had elected him chair and named Richard Grenell as interim president.
In a statement, Trump wrote: ‘It is a great honor to be Chairman of The Kennedy Center, especially with this amazing Board of Trustees. We will make The Kennedy Center a very special and exciting place!’
Trump replaces billionaire philanthropist David Rubenstein as head of the Kennedy Center, one of the leading arts organizations in the country that has enjoyed bipartisan support for years.
His ‘unanimous’ election as the head of the Kennedy Center has since led celebrities to abandon ship and ditch their prestigious roles at the institution.
Shonda Rhimes, the creator of Grey’s Anatomy and Bridgerton, among many other hit series and who served as Kennedy Center treasurer, announced she had stepped down after hearing the news on Wednesday.
‘Please be advised that as of today, Shonda Rhimes has resigned from the board of the Kennedy Center,’ she said in a statement.
Singer Ben Folds also put out a statement announcing he would no longer serve as an artistic adviser to the National Symphony Orchestra.
Caroline, who is Emeritus Trustee at the D.C.-based cultural center is set to meet with Trump along with her daughter, Rose Kennedy Schlossberg, according to insiders
Kennedy, the former ambassador to Australia and Emeritus Trustee at the Kennedy Center, is pictured speaking at the unveiling of a bronze sculpture of her father JFK at the center in 2021
Among the board members and leaders removed from their roles by Trump were President Deborah Rutter and Chairman David Rubenstein. They are pictured with David Letterman, Yo Yo Ma and Caroline Kennedy in 2021
‘Given developments at the Kennedy Center, effective today I am resigning as artistic advisor to the NSO. Not for me,’ he said.
Actress and opera singer Renee Fleming, an artistic advisor at large to the center, has also announced her departure.
Fleming praised both Rubenstein and former president Deborah Rutter for their leadership.
‘I’ve treasured the bi-partisan support for this institution as a beacon of America at our best.
‘I hope the Kennedy Center continues to flourish and serve the passionate and diverse audience in our nation’s capital and across the country,’ she said.
Grennell, a former ambassador to Germany during Trump’s first term, is also serving as an envoy for special missions in the president’s administration and helping lead its response to the California wildfires.
The move represents a swift takeover by Trump and his allies of a cultural institution in Washington that is known for its signature Kennedy Center Honors performances and is home to the National Symphony Orchestra and the Washington National Opera.
Trump did not attend the Honors performances during his first term in office.
Rutter had previously announced her intent to step down at the end of this year. Rubenstein had planned to serve as chair through September 2026.
Trump replaced billionaire philanthropist David Rubenstein as chair of the Kennedy Center, one of the leading arts organizations in the country that has enjoyed bipartisan support for years.
Shonda Rhimes, the creator of Grey’s Anatomy and other hit TV series and who served as Kennedy Center treasurer, and singer Ben Folds, the center’s artistic adviser to the National Symphony Orchestra, resigned following the shakeup
The cultural center has become the latest institution to find itself in Trump’s crosshairs.
In his four weeks in office, the president has sought to slash government jobs and close agencies including the Department of Education and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and last week, announced his plans to target the Kennedy Center, as well.
In a social media post he lambasted it for for having held ‘drag shows.’
In his first term, from 2017 to 2021, the Republican regularly skipped the Kennedy Center’s yearly gala event because people slated to receive awards criticized him and said they would not show up if he did.
Trump on Friday lashed out at the institution, calling it too liberal and out of tune with American values.
That same day he fired the man serving as chairman, the billionaire Democratic philanthropist and Baltimore Orioles owner Rubenstein, and other members of the board of trustees.
New members of the board included singer Lee Greenwood, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino, and Usha Vance, wife of Vice President JD Vance.
The board now has 31 members. Appointees by former President Joe Biden, including former press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, were dismissed.
