Kennedy Center Ticket Sales Plummet Bigly Following Trump Takeover

After President Donald Trump decided to fire several Kennedy Center board members and install himself as chairman earlier this month, ticket sales reportedly dropped by about 50 percent compared to the previous week, according to several Center employees who spoke on the condition of anonymity. If that wasn’t enough, several artists set to perform at the Center have canceled their appearances, including actor/comedian Issa Rae, who was hosting a sold-out event in March. Comedian W. Kamau Bell spoke to The Washington Post about his decision to proceed with his appearance, which had been organized long before Trump’s coup; he told reporter Travis M. Andrews, “I’m the guy who met with the KKK. I do a different calculus than everyone else.” Author Louise Penny, meanwhile, pulled out of a planned event at the center, taking to Facebook to explain: “As soon as what amounts to a coup happened with President Trump, there was absolutely no way I was going to do it. It was a painful decision, but it was not difficult.”