NYT's Maggie Haberman unmasks Trump's new ploy to exert 'different kind of control'
New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman exposed President Donald Trump's new bid to exert a "different kind of cultural control."
Trump announced that he would host the annual Kennedy Center Honors, making him the first sitting president to ever perform the function. He also announced the honorees, including country singer George Strait, actor and comedian Michael Crawford, Sylvester Stallone, Gloria Gaynor, and the band KISS. Each nominee had to be approved by him, and he rejected several candidates he deemed "wokesters."
Haberman joined CNN's "The Source" with host Kaitlan Collins, in which the two discussed his visit to the Kennedy Center on Wednesday.
"The other day, he was calling it the 'Trump-Kennedy Center,' saying, 'Whoops. I mean, the Kennedy Center.' Obviously, he's handpicking these nominees and honorees that are going to get honored later on this year. I wonder what you make of that, plus the Smithsonian, just this wide lens of what exactly he has been undertaking in the last few weeks," said Collins.
Haberman gave two perspectives — the "narrow" view and the "broader" outlook.
"Look, the narrow lens in terms of the Kennedy Center Honors — and specifically, say, Gloria Gaynor, who's obviously a very talented musician — but it feels like, to some extent, an extended Trump rally playlist," Haberman said.
The broader view, she said, is that Trump wants to leave his fingerprints on American culture.
"He is trying not just to leave an imprint on the type of culture that exists in Washington, D.C., and in the rest of the country, but he is trying to control what that could be," said Haberman.
Trump’s White House also issued a letter to Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch on Tuesday, mandating a thorough review of exhibitions, educational programs, and public materials. The evaluation aims to bring the museum's content into alignment with Trump’s directives, which emphasize "unity, progress, and enduring values that define the American story," and strip out "divisive or partisan narratives."
She noted that Trump fans have downplayed his Smithsonian changes, saying, "they haven't done anything yet."
But that's not true.
"They actually have done a lot of things across the board in other ways that suggest exactly where their head is," Haberman said.
"And so, yes, the Trump administration — and Republicans — have long complained about 'cancel culture,' quote-unquote. But they are now imposing a different kind of cultural control."