The New York Times obtained a leaked recording of President Donald Trump that spelled out his unique ideas for the world-famous center for the performing arts, as well as the annually-televised Kennedy Center Honors.
Trump visited the center this week, after "replacing all the Biden appointees on the board of the once bipartisan institution and having himself elected chairman," according to the piece.
On one section of the recording, Trump promised to bring back Broadway musicals, like Andrew Lloyd Webber musical "Cats." Trump said he first saw the show as a young man and, at first, said he didn't see what all the fuss was about. Then, "I saw all these bodies, and then I noticed those bodies were gorgeous. They had silk tights on, and they were all ballerinas, and women from Broadway. And men. I didn’t find those particular bodies as attractive to be honest.”
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The Times reported, "After a board member asked if there were any new musicals that were not 'totally woke,' somebody replied that, in a break with the past, the center would be doing some shows not affiliated with Actors’ Equity, the union representing actors. The person said that the change 'opens us up for a whole bunch of more options as well as a lot more money.'"
Also on the president's mind was the center's annual awards ceremony, which he boycotted during his first term because "several artists being honored criticized him."
On the recording, Trump "complained that the center had been celebrating 'radical left lunatics' and proposed giving posthumous awards" to the likes of Pavarotti, Elvis Presley and even Babe Ruth. The Times noted that, "Pavarotti, who died in 2007, had already been honored by the Kennedy Center in 2001; in 2016 his heirs asked Mr. Trump to stop playing his recordings at campaign rallies."
Trump suggested that the center branch out from solely honoring artists to include entrepreneurs like major Republican donor, casino mogul Steve Wynn. The Times noted that Trump had appointed Wynn’s wife, Andrea, to the Kennedy Center’s board.
Regarding the televised portion of the Kennedy Center Honors, Trump said, “I didn’t like it. I couldn’t watch it. And the host was always terrible.”
He then offered to host the show himself.
“Believe me, I don’t want to do it, I don’t want to do it,” he said on the recording.
Trump continued, “I have enough publicity. They’ll say, ‘Trump wants to be the host.’ I don’t want to. But I want this thing to be successful.”