Kennedy Center ticket sales take a nosedive after Trump takeover

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Guardian

Fri 5 Sep 2025 12.03 EDT
Last modified on Fri 5 Sep 2025 13.19 EDT


Ticket sales at the Kennedy Center have continued to plummet following Donald Trump’s takeover of Washington DC’s premier performing arts venue, with the prestigious Stuttgart Ballet expected to dance next month to houses less than 20% full.

Audiences are “voting with their feet to skip out” on shows that would once have been packed, in protest at the US president inserting himself into the center’s management and operations as its new chairman, amid discussions around the notion of renaming it after Trump, according to an analysis by the Washingtonian magazine.

The outlet said the Stuttgart Ballet’s series at the Kennedy complex’s Opera House in October is only “between 4 and 19%” full based on reservations so far, and BodyTraffic, a Los Angeles troupe booked for two performances in the smaller Eisenhower Theatre at the end of the month, is only booked so far at 12% capacity.

“Big yikes,” one current Kennedy Center staffer told the outlet, having been granted anonymity to speak for fear of retaliation by its new leadership team of Trump-installed loyalists and acolytes.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/05/kennedy-center-ticket-sales-trump-takeover

[AZJonnie]

1. I think Trump would be perfectly happy to close it down entirely because it's losing money

Kennedy is a beloved and respected Democrat, and all IQ47 really cares about is breaking down everything he perceives as having been built by Dems/Liberals. You know, the people that haven't been 'nice to him'.

[NCDem47]

9. That was my first thought.

Prefectly fine shutting it down---"Well, it wasn't making money..."---as a cultural institution and using the space/land for something totally gross.

The 'ole Reoublican "Drown it in a bathtub" move.

[Queso Delicioso]

22. Yeah, guarantee ya he doesn't give a shit.

If anything he sees this as a win.

[tanyev]

2. ETTD.

[maxsolomon]

6. Everything Trump Touches Dies

Translated for the DU Acronym Patrol (BTW I'd never seen it previously and I guessed).

[Queso Delicioso]

23. Unfortunately he's had his mitts all over America.

[johnnyplankton]

3. Trump will probably dress the National Guard in tuxes and "deploy" them to the ballet to fill the seats

[BumRushDaShow]

5. Don't laugh!

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-2673965091/

[tanyev]

12. Trump does love to talk about central casting.

To him, the presidency is one long reality show that’s so popular there are news stories about him every day.

😒

[BaronChocula]

4. What did Rick Wilson say?

"Everything trump touches dies."

No worries. They'll just subsidize tickets for any redcaps within a hundred-mile radius who want to see The Charlie Daniels Experience and such other "attractions."

[oberle]

7. I feel badly for the performers

It's not their fault that this is happening. The good acts will no longer come. The National Symphony won't be able to pay the orchestra members. Those of us who live in the region who used to go frequently are really upset. We want to support the musicians. We don't want to support the Tangerine Toddler.

[riversedge]

10. I understand your feelings and you have a right to be upset.

[riversedge]

8. "Subscription revenue is down by about 50%, the magazine's report said, and it quoted a spokesperson for

tsk tsk tsk!!


.............Subscription revenue is down by about 50%, the magazine’s report said, and it quoted a spokesperson for the German embassy who said they did not know if the Stuttgart Ballet would still perform there given the poor ticket sales.

The reported slump extends an already worrying slide in patronage. By June, the Kennedy Center had seen subscription sales fall by about $1.6m, or roughly 36%, compared with 2024...................

[ananda]

11. Big yawn.

Who cares?

[Sneederbunk]

13. Those who appreciate the arts.

[TomSlick]

18. And those who mourn the passing of a national treasure.

[BidenRocks]

20. I'm thinking A & W

[Hekate]

16. As with the former Rose Garden, created by Jacqueline Kennedy and destroyed by Trump...

…this was something beautiful and publicly valuable created by the Kennedys.

Trump is hell-bent on killing anything left by his predecessors, whether Roosevelt’s New Deal or John F. Kennedy’s Peace Corps, or Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society.

That’s why I care. It’s something for all of us, and even if I can’t attend in person, I can see performances on PBS.

Oh wait — PBS will be gone too.

[mentalsolstice]

17. Shutting down the Arts is one of the first signs of impending fascism!

I guess you didn’t know that, or you forgot the sarcasm thingy.

[oberle]

24. I care

and thousands and probably millions care That's who. If you don't live in the DMV I can see why you're so callous.

[Ocelot II]

26. You care if you care about the arts and the future of an iconic national vehicle for the arts.

I've never been there but I care a lot.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

14. maga is not exactly the target audience of ballet performances. . . . nt

[Prairie Gates]

15. They don't have space for monster truck shows

MAGA is a cultural black hole. Call me elitist. I don't care. They're trashbags.

[Marie Marie]

19. Good! Now they can name the EMPTY Opera House after our EMPTY First Lady.

Seems fitting. Then, once the Orange Douche Bag is gone, let the next Democratic President restore it to it's former glory, bring in some wonderful performers and make the Kennedy Center Great Again!

[Paladin]

21. Glad to see this happening. (nt)

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

28. People fighting back in every way possible

[TlalocW]

25. What were they thinking? Their stereotype of people who enjoy supporting the arts

Are going to be pipe-smoking, padded elbow jacket-wearing, PBS-watching, NPR-listening, liberal intelligentsia. Put an uncultured buffoon in charge of something like the Kennedy Center, and things are going to bomb.

After his White House mma event, he'll probably have them on the regular there.

[MadMike47]

27. Aw, c'mon!!!

Who doesn't love a Kid Rock concert?!!!

[dem4decades]

29. Springtime For Hitler will be packed with MAGA.

[live love laugh]

30. Republicans will buy tickets 🎟️ maybe even pay seat fillers. Let them.

[Old Crank]

31. Liberals support the arts

Conservatives support truck pulls.

[Gimpyknee]

32. We cancelled our subscription to the Kennedy Center last month after 24 seasons.

[travelingthrulife]

33. Retaliation against a performance center. For being too woke, I presume?

[LetMyPeopleVote]

34. Attendance at the Kennedy Center has crashed under trump

trump has destroyed the Kennedy Center

Link to tweet

[tonekat]

35. When is the Rodeo in residence? N/T

[LetMyPeopleVote]

36. rump's destruction of the Kennedy Center is almost complete. 😳👇

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

37. If Trump wants a large audience for some dancers from Stuttgart, ...

... he can pack the seats with people from the National Guard. I'm sure they'd love some ballet.

"When the Colonel stands and claps, you cretins better get on your feet and make some noise!"

[LetMyPeopleVote]

38. Everything trump touches dies

Link to tweet