{"id":2054802,"date":"2026-07-21T22:01:53","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T19:01:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2054802"},"modified":"2026-07-21T22:01:53","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T19:01:53","slug":"ben-folds-slams-trumps-kennedy-center-takeover-before-congress-when-you-politicize-art-youve-got-propaganda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2054802","title":{"rendered":"Ben Folds Slams Trump\u2019s Kennedy Center Takeover Before Congress: \u2018When You Politicize Art, You\u2019ve Got Propaganda\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ben-folds-trump-vanity-projects-forum-screenshot-billboard-1800.jpg?w=1024″]<\/p>\n

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\n\tA congressional forum was held Tuesday (July 21) to call attention to Donald Trump\u2018s various \u201cvanity projects,\u201d one of which \u2014 the unprecedented 2025 overhaul of the Kennedy Center \u2014 Ben Folds was on hand to discuss.<\/p>\n

\n\tDuring his turn to speak before lawmakers in the hearing presided over by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), the singer\/songwriter shared testimony of the changes he witnessed when he was still artistic advisor to the cultural institution\u2019s National Symphony Orchestra. Ever since Trump booted a number of board members and took the role of chairman for himself in February 2025, the Kennedy Center has become a \u201chyper-politicized environment,\u201d according to Folds.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tPresident Trump Says He\u2019s Firing Kennedy Center Board Members & Naming Himself\u00a0Chairman\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tPresident Trump Blocked From Adding His Name to Kennedy Center by Federal\u00a0Judge\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tMyke Towers, Eladio Carri\u00f3n, Greeicy & More Set for 2026 iHeartRadio Fiesta Latina Lineup\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n\t\u201cI never heard politics discussed in any meetings or gatherings at the center,\u201d he recalled of his tenure leading up to Trump\u2019s takeover, noting that the organization remained apolitical even during the twice-impeached POTUS\u2019 first tenure in 2017-2021. \u201cEveryone involved, including the Trump board, knew we were there to create, educate and showcase art for all Americans, not to further a political agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI think most of us understand that when you politicize art, you\u2019ve got propaganda,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n

\n\tFolds went on to detail how Trump\u2019s actions negatively affected the center\u2019s reputation and mission. For one, he pointed out that artists can no longer accept or decline invitations to perform at the venue without it coming across as either an endorsement or protest of the president\u2019s administration. <\/p>\n

\n\tHe also said that he \u201ccould not trust\u201d that the artists he booked to play at the Kennedy Center \u201cwould be safe from retribution if they said or sung something that might displease the president or his political allies. \u201cFor this reason, with great sadness, I had no choice but to resign,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\n\tFurther, Folds also amplified the investigation into Yasmin Levy\u2019s performance at the center in September. The singer had criticized the board\u2019s DEI and programming changes in an email exchange with then-interim executive director Richard Grenell, who was selected for the job by Trump. When it came time for her performance \u2014 which she went through with in solidarity with the Kennedy Center\u2019s staff and union \u2014 she was booed by hecklers that Grennell\u2019s executive vp, Rick Loughery, had allegedly paid to harass her. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe takeover hobbled the Kennedy Center, broke its once-proven successful business model and disrespected its original core mission,\u201d Folds said conclusively. \u201cI can only hope your concerns can find their way to the hearts and minds of your colleagues on the other side of the aisle, who seem absent today.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Kennedy Center was just one of many issues covered at the forum, which came in response to \u201cTrump\u2019s vanity projects [that] have wasted hundreds of millions of your hard-earned tax dollars,\u201d according to a description. Testifiers such as Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) and National Parks Conservation manager of veterans programs Jimi Shaughnessy, as well as Public Citizen democracy advocate Jon Gollinger, also shared observations about Trump\u2019s extravagant spending on renovating parts of the White House, making over the Lincoln Memorial\u2019s reflecting pool and constructing a large triumphal arch in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n

\n\tFolds had served as the NSO\u2019s artistic advisor for nearly a decade before stepping down in February 2025, around which time several acts denounced Trump for taking control over the Kennedy Center and publicly canceled planned concerts at the venue. This past May, a federal judge ordered that Trump could not add his name to the Kennedy Center\u2019s title and called for the immediate removal of any reference to him on the building\u2019s signage.<\/p>\n

\n\tWatch the full hearing below.<\/p>\n

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[analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/music-news\/ben-folds-testifies-against-trump-kennedy-center-congress-1236300068\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ben-folds-trump-vanity-projects-forum-screenshot-billboard-1800.jpg?w=1024″] A congressional forum was held Tuesday (July 21) to call attention to Donald Trump\u2018s various \u201cvanity projects,\u201d one of which \u2014 the unprecedented 2025 overhaul of the Kennedy Center \u2014 Ben Folds was on hand to discuss. During his turn to speak before lawmakers in the hearing presided over by Sen. Richard […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[48,226],"class_list":["post-2054802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-billboard-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2054802","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2054802"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2054802\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2054802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2054802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2054802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}