Copyright The Daily Beast
Donald Trump’s MAGA takeover of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is having a disastrous effect on the cultural institution, as ticket sales have plummeted. Tens of thousands of tickets for performances across the Kennedy Center’s three largest venues went unsold between Sept. 3 and Oct. 19, an analysis from The Washington Post found. For the same periods in 2025, 2024, and 2023, the number of tickets still available was 43 percent, up from 7 percent, and 20 percent. The decline in revenue is, potentially, a threat to the venue’s future. Nearly nine months after the president installed himself as Kennedy Center chair, 43 percent of tickets remain unsold for a typical production. Of the roughly 143,000 seats that could have been sold from early September to mid-October, more than 50,000 remain vacant, according to The Post. Trump’s takeover of the center had already sparked widespread backlash, with multiple artists withdrawing their associations with the venue and hugely popular shows such as Hamilton pulling out of potentially lucrative runs. One former staff member told The Post that backlash to Trump’s leadership has been even more damaging to business than the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. “These numbers are likely more dire than they appear, as they don’t account for canceled productions or shows moved into smaller theaters due to weak ticket sales,” they said. A current staff member said the decline in ticket sales cannot simply be attributed to costs or programming, but instead feels “directly tied to the new regime’s leadership shift and the broader political climate.” “I’ve heard from ticket buyers who say they’re choosing not to attend because of what the Kennedy Center now represents,” the staff member said. “The brand itself has become polarizing, which is unprecedented in my experience.” Even the reported number of sold tickets may not reflect the true extent of the fallout. The Post notes that an unknown portion of sales could be “comps” given away for free to press, staff, or others the venue chooses. Several Kennedy Center staff members said they’ve received far more free tickets than in previous years, and that the venue appears to be offering more comps in a desperate attempt to fill seats. “All in all, it is not a sustainable situation,” one staff member said. Michael Kaiser, former president of the Kennedy Center, also warned that if ticket sales do not pick up, then it will “bode unfavorably for future fundraising revenue.” “The vast majority of donors are ticket buyers who are anxious to enhance their relationships with the organization by making contributions in addition to paying for their tickets,” Kaiser said. “We had 40,000 generous individual donors by the time I left the Center in 2014. Funding from these individuals formed the foundation for all we accomplished.”
