The late, great Andrew Breitbart forcefully and repeatedly made the case that “politics is downstream from culture.” CBS’s extended whine session over the Trump takeover of the Kennedy Center proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Breitbart was ultimately right.
Watch as former CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell sits stolidly while the former artistic director of the National Symphony Orchestra decries the “authoritarian instinct” compelling the Kennedy Center takeover (click “expand” to view transcript):
CBS’s @NorahODonnell takes on Trump at @KenCen. Ben Folds: “There is an instinct, an authoritarian instinct, that is true in all authoritarian times in history. Take control of the culture. Take control of the arts. Early on.”
— Brent Baker 🇺🇲🇺🇦 🇮🇱 (@BrentHBaker) March 30, 2025
O’Donnell on @CBSSunday: “What’s the hardest part… pic.twitter.com/tj1wUksCkd
NORAH O’DONNELL: Musician Ben Folds is among those who resigned after serving as the artistic advisor of the National Symphony Orchestra, part of the Kennedy Center.
BEN FOLDS: Let's say I get in, uh, an artist that has different views than the president. Do they feel safe being themselves? Do they feel safe saying what they believe? They're not political shows, but this is, you can express what you'd like to.
O’DONNELL: And you think that's no longer the case?
FOLDS: Well, I suspect it's no longer the case. There is an instinct, an authoritarian instinct, that is true in all authoritarian times in history. Take control of the culture. Take control of the arts. Early on.
O’DONNELL: We reached out to The White House and Kennedy Center for this story. No one responded to our request for interviews.
What's the hardest part about all this?
DEBORAH RUTTER: I think the sting is the disregard for expertise and experience. And we were working towards something extraordinary.
O’DONNELL: Now, Deborah Rutter says she hopes the institution's founding message isn't forgotten.
RUTTER: I often go back to Eisenhower's words, and then Kennedy's words, to think about, who are we? What do we do? We believe that all of Americans should be seen and should feel welcome at the Kennedy Center.
The most galling quote of the interview, undoubtedly, is that “authoritarianism” crack. The takeover of each of our institutions by the radical left concluded with the takeover of culture that championed the destructive rise of Barack Obama to the presidency of the United States. What we are seeing now is the beginning of a course correction that seeks to bring culture back in line with our politics. Whining about “authoritarianism” is little more than lefty elites’ displaced mourning at the fact that their “authoritarians” are no longer in charge.
Case in point: the report mentions Hamilton producers refusing to perform at the Kennedy Center subsequent to Trump’s takeover. Not mentioned: the Hamilton cast berating then-Vice President Elect Mike Pence in New York. Their whining about politics is hypocritical.
O’Donnell’s platforming of this nonsense might play among the D.C. chattering classes and in Georgetown cocktail parties, but falls flat among the the rest of America that is sick and tired of having their noses rubbed in entertainment featuring elites’ fetish of the day.
If only Andrew were here to see this.
Click “expand” to view the full transcript of the aforementioned report as aired on CBS Sunday Morning on March 30th, 2025:
JANE PAULEY: This morning, Norah O'Donnell takes a closer look at those sweeping changes afoot for a storied Washington institution.
DONALD TRUMP: So do you want a little picture like this?
NORAH O’DONNELL: President Trump is taking center stage at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
TRUMP: We make a lot of changes, including the seats, the decor. Pretty much everything. Needs a lot of work.
O’DONNELL: He's directing many of those changes as the new chairman of the board. Out are all of President Joe Biden's appointees, replaced with Trump allies.
TRUMP: It is a very big part of the fabric of Washington, D.C. And we're going to make our capital great again, just like we're going to make our country great again.
O’DONNELL: The Trump White House says an overhaul is needed because the marquee arts center is, quote, “woke and broke.”
Is the Kennedy Center broke?
DEBORAH RUTTER: The Kennedy Center has the most complicated financial model, and that is true of every nonprofit arts organization. We did a lot of really great things that I really love…
O’DONNELL: Last month, Deborah Rutter was fired as president of the Kennedy Center after serving for more than a decade. The institution has a budget of $268 million, with 43 million from the federal government. In 2023, it had a $6 million surplus. Is the Kennedy Center supposed to be a money making, profitable enterprise?
RUTTER: Right. We're a non profit organization. The answer is no. It's not intended to make money.
O’DONNELL: Its budget comes mostly from donations. Billionaire businessman and former chairman David Rubenstein has given more than $100 million. He, too, was fired last month.
RUTTER: To have us both leaving at the same time does cause me some worry because of the sense of understanding of structure, decision making, how we go about interpretating(sic) our mission, um, all of those kinds of things.
JOHN F. KENNEDY: Art knows no national boundaries.
O’DONNELL: The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts was founded in 1971 as a national cultural center and memorial to president John F. Kennedy. Its annual honors ceremony, which airs on CBS, features the best in music, theater and dance. But now conservatives charge it's too liberal, highlighting three drag events last year. Was it a mistake to host drag shows?
RUTTER: I don't think so. I believe that everybody in America has the opportunity to be seen, and to be seen at your national cultural center. The shows that he's referring to are three of the 2,000 performances that take place at the Kennedy Center.
O’DONNELL: What do you think the focus on those three shows was about?
RUTTER: I cannot actually imagine. Drag has been around for centuries. Shakespeare performed in drag. The original Shakespeare.
O’DONNELL: President Trump boycotted the Kennedy Center honors during his first term, after criticism from honorees like Norman Lear. So what does the new chairman have planned now? In audio obtained by Sunday Morning, he suggests a new host.
TRUMP: A king of ratings. Right. Whether we like it or not, the king of ratings. So if I was the host of the honors, and we'll go slightly more conservative, if you don't mind, with some of the people.
O’DONNELL: What kind of people does President Trump want to honor?
PAOLO ZAMPOLI: They were mentioning a list of people. I remember the name of Pavarotti, I remember the name of Andrea Bocelli. They wanted to do about- something about Elvis Presley.
O’DONNELL: Paolo Zampoli, longtime friend of the president, has been on the board since 2020.
What kind of ideas do you have to make the Kennedy Center better?
ZAMPOLI: Well, we're, uh, in the Potomac River. We could have a little marina where in the weekend, boats can come there. Nice cafes. Nice location where they can spend the weekend there and make it like a destination. Other things that I suggested is to branch franchises around the world.
O’DONNELL: Another idea? Sending art to the International Space Station.
ZAMPOLI: My idea was to have, um, not Michelangelo, not Picasso, but, you know, living contemporary artists to create this very small piece of art. One can be displayed inside the ISS, one can be thrown in low orbit, that can circulate in the orbit and one can be auctioned, on the ground of the Kennedy Center because they need to raise money.
O’DONNELL: There are some artists who feel like they won't be welcome at the Kennedy Center. Artists who are gay or lesbian, LGBTQ.
ZAMPOLI: I don't think, uh, the president have anything against these kind of people. I don't understand what this distinct inclusion or this woke- this- the Kennedy Center is acceptable for everybody and has to represent the agenda of America.
O’DONNELL: Not everyone agrees. One thing you won't see is the musical Hamilton. Producers canceled shows after President Trump became chairman.
TRUMP: I never liked Hamilton very much and, uh, I never liked it.
O’DONNELL: There have been several other high profile cancellations and resignations. The vice president was even booed at a recent performance.
You were a part of the Kennedy Center leadership during the first Trump administration.
BEN FOLDS: That's right.
O’DONNELL: And was there any involvement in politics then?
FOLDS: Never saw anything like this, no. This is new, and it was quite sudden.
O’DONNELL: Musician Ben Folds is among those who resigned after serving as the artistic advisor of the National Symphony Orchestra, part of the Kennedy Center.
FOLDS: Let's say I get in, uh, an artist that has different views than the president. Do they feel safe being themselves? Do they feel safe saying what they believe? They're not political shows, but this is, you can express what you'd like to.
O’DONNELL: And you think that's no longer the case?
FOLDS: Well, I suspect it's no longer the case. There is an instinct, an authoritarian instinct, that is true in all authoritarian times in history. Take control of the culture. Take control of the arts. Early on.
O’DONNELL: We reached out to The White House and Kennedy Center for this story. No one responded to our request for interviews.
What's the hardest part about all this?
RUTTER: I think the sting is the disregard for expertise and experience. And we were working towards something extraordinary.
O’DONNELL: Now, Deborah Rutter says she hopes the institution's founding message isn't forgotten.
RUTTER: I often go back to Eisenhower's words, and then Kennedy's words, to think about, who are we? What do we do? We believe that all of Americans should be seen and should feel welcome at the Kennedy Center.
