Trump scrambles to pass buck as Kennedy Center bleeds money: 'I merely came in to save it'

As ticket sales plummet and performances get canceled at the Kennedy Center following Donald Trump’s takeover of the institution earlier this year, the president took to social media Monday to shift blame for the venue’s financial troubles to past administrations.

“People don’t realize that The Trump Kennedy Center suffered massive deficits for many years and, like everything else, I merely came in to save it and, if possible, make it far better than ever before!” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.

Since Trump’s takeover of the Kennedy Center early last year, which included naming himself as the institution’s board chair, ticket sales for the institution’s annual performance of “The Nutcracker” suffered a 33% dropoff when compared with the previous 23 years. The center’s annual awards ceremony in December – hosted by Trump himself – also saw the institution’s lowest ratings in history.

Trump assumed control of the Kennedy Center’s Board of Trustees early last year, and made a number of new appointments. That board would later vote "unanimously" to rename the institution the “Trump-Kennedy Center,” despite the board holding no authority to rename the institution.