What did Donald Trump do today?

He indulged in his obsession with remaking the Kennedy Center in his image.

With tensions rising over his militarization of the nation's capital and the Epstein scandal still boiling over, Trump sought out something that has become a kind of safe space for him today: the Kennedy Center. Or, as he called it today, the "Trump-Kennedy Center."

Trump has taken a particular interest in the Kennedy Center, which—until his second term began—was an independent arts organization that hosted some of the nation and the world's best performers. Shortly after returning to office, Trump fired its entire board and appointed himself as a replacement.

On his return today, he announced the 2025 honorees, which he insisted he'd chosen personally. They include the band Kiss, whose iconic look was inspired by the drag shows that Trump falsely claimed that the Kennedy Center was targeting children with. (Unbelievably, the Trump-approved 2025 schedule includes four musicals with crossdressing content: Chicago, Mrs. Doubtfire, Moulin Rouge! The Musical, and Spamalot.) Trump also claimed he'd personally vetoed "wokesters," though without much elaboration.

TRUMP: I turned down plenty. They were too woke. I had a couple of wokesters. No, we have great people. This is very different than it used to be. These are great people. Look at the Academy Awards. It gets lousy ratings. Now it’s all woke. All they do is talk about how much they hate Trump, but nobody likes that.

Trump departed from his prepared remarks at one point to muse about how he could get an award himself: 

TRUMP: I wanted [a Kennedy Center award]. I was never able to get one. It’s true, actually, I would have taken it if they would’ve called me. I waited and waited and waited, and I said to hell with it, I’ll become chairman, and I’ll give myself an honor. Next year we’ll honor Trump, OK?

It's not clear why Trump thinks he qualifies for an award whose main criterion is a lifetime of "artistic excellence," although he did mention his hosting of a reality game show several times. Trump also appeared in several pro wrestling features, as well as Home Alone 2 and Playboy Video Centerfold: Playmate 2000 Bernaola Twins.

 

Trump rounded out his visit by appointing himself the host of the awards ceremony this December, insisting that the Center's remaining staff had begged him to do it. He also scrawled his name on one of the walls in his trademark Sharpie.

With his personal entry into the world of arts administration, Trump joins other world leaders who have appointed themselves the head of their nation's arts organizations to ensure that they reflected their personal aesthetic, including Josef Stalin, Adolf Hitler, and Mao Zedong.

Why does this matter?

• Tinpot dictators are never satisfied with just having all the political power.

• There are much, much more important things for a president who's invaded his own capital city to worry about than pretending he's the people's choice to host an awards ceremony.