Ousted Trump official melts down at senator while stepping down from Kennedy Center role
Donald Trump, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Photos by Yuri Gripas, Elizabeth Frantz for Reuters)
March 14, 2026
A Donald Trump nominee who is stepping down from his role at the Kennedy Center took some parting shots at a Dem senator on Saturday.
It started with a report from The Washington Post, which stated, "Richard Grenell, the Trump ally installed to lead the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, is leaving the post after just over a year at the helm of the cultural institution — ending a turbulent tenure marked by staff departures, artist cancellations and plummeting ticket sales."
That was seized upon by Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse. He shared the WaPo article and wrote, "Like a mob bust-out gone wrong, Trumpsters’ looting of the Kennedy Center has put it out of business, and now it needs to be 'closed for renovations' as cover-up. No surprise he’s being replaced."
That's when Grenell melted down. He replied, "Your buffoonery knows no limits. You sat silent while the place went into total disrepair. You sat silent while the staff was paid with monies designed to pay off the future $30 million loan coming due in 2030 because there was no money in the bank to pay salaries. You sat silent while corporations left because of the hard left woke programming."
He then continued:
"We fixed it. And we are doing the right thing to close the entire place in a few weeks to renovate it - because of your years of neglect. This Washington game of kicking the can down the road and never solving problems has ended with President Trump. It doesn’t matter what you or the New York Times or CNN says. We are fixing the place that YOU ruined. It becomes a construction site for two years because you failed to keep up with the maintenance. And we have a world-class construction leader to do it the right way. You are welcome."