Culture

<Trump was 'very involved' in Kennedy Center Honorees selection, vetoed 'wokesters'

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

President Trump announced this year's Kennedy Center Honors today. U.S. presidents typically don't get involved in the annual selections. But after Trump took office, he ousted the leadership that was in place, named his own board members and they voted him chair of the Center for the Arts. NPR culture correspondent Elizabeth Blair attended the press conference, and she is in the studio now. Hey, Elizabeth.

ELIZABETH BLAIR, BYLINE: Hi, Ari.

SHAPIRO: So who are the winners?

BLAIR: The winners are country star George Strait, the rock band KISS, you know, the guys with the big hair and lots of makeup.

SHAPIRO: Yeah.

BLAIR: The Broadway actor Michael Crawford, who originated the lead role in "Phantom Of The Opera," the actor Sylvester Stallone from "Rocky" and "Rambo" and others, and singer Gloria Gaynor.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I WILL SURVIVE")

GLORIA GAYNOR: (Singing) Go on, now, go. Walk out the door. Just turn around now 'cause you're not welcome anymore. Weren't you the one...

SHAPIRO: All right, Elizabeth, how is this year's selection process different from in the past?

BLAIR: It was completely different. Usually, there's not a press conference. It's just a press release. Then there's the selection process. In the past, lots of people were involved. There was a special advisory committee made up of board members, and that board did not include the president of the United States. The general public could nominate artists. The board also got feedback from the luminaries who were honorees from previous years. But today, President Trump said he was heavily involved. And he is clearly a fan of all of the honorees. He talked about seeing "Rambo" with Sylvester Stallone for the first time and seeing Michael Crawford on Broadway in 1967.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Michael is truly a generational talent, had a voice that was unbelievable. It was unbelievable. There's never - I don't know. Luciano Pavarotti had a very different voice. The power was incredible, magnificent. Michael had a different kind of a voice. These are just unbelievable talents.

SHAPIRO: Let me ask you about a different story involving the White House reshaping a cultural institution because this week, the White House laid out a detailed plan to review content at eight of the Smithsonian museums. What will that involve?

BLAIR: It will be labor intensive. So back in March, he came out with an executive order that was critical of the Smithsonian, saying that it had come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology. And the letter sent this week called for the removal of, quote, "divisive or partisan narratives." So that's everything from the wall text next to every painting and exhibit to social media, to the curatorial process. It will be labor intensive.

SHAPIRO: So put all of these moves into context for us because at the same time that the president is asserting authority over the Kennedy Center and the Smithsonian, the administration is also cutting funding for many other cultural institutions. What's the big picture here?

BLAIR: He has long called for zeroing out the budgets for the National Endowments for the Arts and the Humanities. And most of that money goes to arts and cultural groups across the country. The Department of Government Efficiency abruptly terminated grants that had already been approved by Congress. So at the state level, there are museums, theaters, dance companies that are hurting. So it doesn't seem to square with the passion President Trump showed today for the performing arts.

SHAPIRO: That is NPR's Elizabeth Blair. Thanks, Elizabeth.

BLAIR: Thanks, Ari.

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