Shake-Up: Trump Replaces Grenell at Kennedy Center
Donald Trump replaces Ric Grenell as head of the Kennedy Center amid backlash from artists and a major renovation plan, intensifying the Kennedy Center leadership change.
Donald Trump has announced that Ric Grenell—a longtime foreign policy advisor to the Republican Party who oversaw major changes at the Kennedy Center—changes that led many artists to leave the performing arts venue—will now be replaced by Matt Flocca, the Center's Vice President of Operations.
Trump announced on social media that he had removed Grenell, thanking him for his "fantastic work." A photograph of Flocca surfaced in December, showing him personally overseeing the work of adding Trump's name to the exterior of the Center. Grenell's departure comes as the Kennedy Center prepares to close this summer for a two-year renovation.
Earlier in the day, while the U.S. military was engaged in combat with Iran, Trump shared several design renderings of the renovation, which he dubbed the "New, Far Better, Trump Kennedy Center!"
Grenell—long known for his highly aggressive exchanges with journalists and political opponents on Twitter and later X—served as the U.S. Ambassador to Germany during Trump's first term, and later as the Acting Director of National Intelligence. He was appointed to this position despite having no prior experience in the arts.
After the President returned to power, Grenell played a pivotal role in Trump's efforts to implement major changes at the Kennedy Center. After largely ignoring the Center during his first term, Trump transformed it into a central battleground in his fight against "woke" culture. He ousted the previous leadership of the Kennedy Center and appointed a Board of Trustees of his own choosing, who voted in favor of renaming the facility the "Trump Kennedy Center"—a change that scholars and lawmakers argue should be initiated by Congress. Recently, Trump's name was indeed added to the exterior of the building.
The reaction from the arts community was immediate and intense; major musicals like *Hamilton* canceled their shows. Actress Issa Rae and author Louise Penny also canceled their scheduled engagements, while advisors such as musician Ben Folds and singer Renée Fleming resigned.
Last week, Jean Davidson, Executive Director of the National Symphony Orchestra, stepped down from her post to take the helm of the Los Angeles-based Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.
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During Trump's second term, the venue effectively became an extension of the Trump White House itself. The President played a pivotal role in persuading FIFA President Gianni Infantino to host the World Cup draw there in December. Just days later, Trump himself hosted the Kennedy Center Honors—a first for a sitting president.
A source "familiar" with the White House's thinking told CNN that Trump blames Grenell for failing to properly manage the Kennedy Center's public relations during his tenure. The President apparently holds Grenell responsible for the fact that—when Trump appointed himself Chairman of the Center's Board and subsequently had his name inscribed on the Center's exterior wall (despite lacking congressional approval to rename a memorial dedicated to his assassinated predecessor)—many artists refused to perform there.
Grenell vigorously championed what he termed a "common sense" agenda; His objective was to steer the Kennedy Center toward programming that would appeal to the broadest possible audience while simultaneously shielding the institution from financial losses. However, these measures drew criticism from numerous Democrats on Capitol Hill. Rumors circulated that Grenell was in the running to become Secretary of State during a potential second Trump term. These rumors surfaced in 2020, after he brokered a limited economic agreement between Serbia and Kosovo. The President misrepresented this agreement, claiming that it had ended the ongoing war between these two former Yugoslav territories—a conflict that had, in reality, concluded decades earlier.
As independent journalist Jacqueline Sweet noted in an article published a week after the 2024 elections, Grenell deleted more than 6,371 of his previous posts on Twitter (now known as "X"). These posts included tweets dating back to 2012, when he served as a foreign policy spokesperson for Mitt Romney's presidential campaign; however, he was removed from that position just weeks later following the emergence of his caustic and controversial posts.
According to Floka's LinkedIn profile, he joined the Kennedy Center in January 2024—during the tenure of the Biden administration.
In a press release issued by the Center at the time, he was described as "an experienced facilities management professional with a background in construction management and a deep understanding of holistic building design principles."
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