Donald and Melania Trump have pulled out of the Kennedy Center Honors.
Three of the five recipients had already said they would not go to the White House for the traditional Saturday night gala at which the president bestows the awards.
Now the Trumps, rather than try to fix things or reach out to the people in the arts and culture who make America great, have pulled out of the ceremony entirely. There is no explanation other than they want to “remove political distraction.”
This is a telling moment for what’s to come with Trump as far as dinners and awards go. There have no been state dinners yet. Celebrities typically are invited. And then there are things like the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Would anyone accept at this point?
So this is a first. It’s rare– if ever– that a president and first lady haven’t sat in the presidential box since the Kennedy Center honors began 40 years ago. It’s unclear now who will sit in the box– Mike Pence? — or whether it will be removed entirely.
This is one of the many failings of Donald Trump. Knowing that he’s offended the arts world– all the members of his arts commission resigned this week– he has no interest in trying to figure out why, or to meet anyone in that community halfway. Melania is probably fuming– no red carpets, no celeb, no gowns. It’s just back to Mar-a-Lago, where this week seven — 7– major charities have cancelled their galas.
