Kennedy Center: how Trump transformed the famous artistic institution in his image - ExBulletin

President Donald Trump doesn't yet have his name on the Kennedy Center, but he has already shaped it to suit his tastes.

Just days after participating in the FIFA World Cup draw and accepting the first-ever FIFA Peace Prize, Trump is set to host the Kennedy Center Honors, presenting awards to Sylvester Stallone, rock band KISS and Gloria Gaynor, among others.

Later this month, he will convene the center's board of directors, which he chairs, in Palm Beach, Fla., nearly 1,000 miles from the institution's headquarters in Washington, D.C., for a full schedule of events, according to an invitation obtained by CNN.

The Dec. 18 offsite meeting and Trump-centered events underscore how the president has sought to leave his mark on the nation's most important cultural institution: by reshaping its leadership, securing multimillion-dollar funding from Congress for renovations and reinventing its programming. The moves led to deep internal upheaval and attracted the attention of Democratic lawmakers, members of the arts community and former Kennedy Center staffers.

These changes, both thematic and cosmetic, also reflect Trump's broader efforts to remake Washington, DC.

Board meetings, according to one attendee, now mirror Trump cabinet meetings, with members moving around the room talking about how great and visionary the president is and how classy and tasteful he is.

Trump's takeover of the Kennedy Center began early. Days after returning to power, he announced an aggressive plan to gut the existing board and oust its chairman, billionaire philanthropist David Rubenstein.

He installed a whos who of loyalists, including new President Richard Grenell, his ambassador to Germany during his first term, who reevaluated programming and targeted it at the masses. Grenell reduced existing staff, hired political allies, and imposed a balance policy for every performance and facility rental.

And as Trump imposes his aesthetic tastes on Washington, DC, the Kennedy Center is no e