Trump says he is firing Kennedy Centre trustees and naming himself chairman

President Donald Trump says he is firing members of the board of trustees for the John F Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts and naming himself chairman.

He also indicated that he would be dictating programming at one of the nation’s premier cultural institutions, specifically declaring that he would end events featuring performers in drag.

Mr Trump’s announcement came as the Republican president bulldozed his way across official Washington during the first weeks of his second term, trying to shutter federal agencies, freeze spending and ending diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives across the government.

“We will soon announce a new Board, with an amazing Chairman, Donald J. Trump!”

In a statement later on its website, the Kennedy Centre said it was aware of Mr Trump’s post.

“We have received no official communications from the White House regarding changes to our board of trustees,” the statement said. “We are aware that some members of our board have received termination notices from the administration.”

The statement continued: “Per the Centre’s governance established by Congress in 1958, the chair of the board of trustees is appointed by the Centre’s board members.

“There is nothing in the Centre’s statute that would prevent a new administration from replacing board members; however, this would be the first time such action has been taken with the Kennedy Centre’s board.”

Drag artists accused Mr Trump of targeting them because of who they are in a country where freedom of expression is guaranteed by the Constitution.

“Banning an entire art form is censorship, plain and simple. Americans don’t have to agree on everything, but we should be able to speak our minds and perform our art without bans, retaliation, or intimidation.”

Unlike Democrat ex-president Joe Biden and other presidents through the decades, Mr Trump did not attend the annual Kennedy Centre Honours ceremonies during his first term.

Shortly after Mr Trump’s post, the Kennedy Centre website began experiencing technical difficulties.

Visitors got a message reading “We are experiencing high traffic” and were redirected to a “waiting room” that listed how many hundreds of people were trying to access the site ahead of them.

Mr Trump suggested in his post that he would be implementing some changes to the centre’s performance schedule, noting that last year “the Kennedy Centre featured Drag Shows specifically targeting our youth — This will stop.”

According to its website, the centre in July hosted a pre-show titled “A Drag Salute to Divas” and a November “Drag Brunch”.

In his post, Mr Trump did not clarify which board of trustee members he would terminate besides the current chairman, philanthropist David Rubenstein.

The board often features political powerbrokers and major donors, and is currently made up of members from both sides of the aisle.

Mr Rubenstein was first elected to the post in 2010 and reelected each year since that time. He was originally appointed to the Kennedy Centre board by George W Bush and subsequently re-appointed by Barack Obama and Mr Biden.

The current board features Mr Biden’s White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, as well as Mike Donilon, Mr Biden’s longtime ally, and Stephanie Cutter, a former Obama adviser.

The treasurer of the centre’s board of trustees is television producer Shonda Rhimes, who hosted fundraisers for Mr Biden before he abandoned his reelection bid last summer.

But the current board also features Trump allies, including Pam Bondi, his recently confirmed attorney general, and Lee Greenwood, whose song God Bless The USA, was the unofficial anthem of Mr Trump’s presidential campaigns.