January 30, 2026

Donald Trump’s effort to glorify himself by illegally tacking his name onto the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts has backfired bigly. Artists have been canceling shows ever since because they want nothing to do with Trump’s murderous assaults on democracy and decency. The Washington National Opera has left the center altogether.

Ticket sales have plunged, too.

Now, the top official in charge of artistic programming has quit, a mere 12 days after Trump toady and Kennedy Center president Ric Grenell announced in a January 16 press release, “We are proud to welcome Kevin Couch to the Trump Kennedy Center as we expand our common-sense programming. Kevin brings a cleareyed approach to curating a roster of compelling shows that invite and inspire all audiences.”

Couch has offered no explanation for his resignation. I’m guessing the marble armrests Trump wants to install at the Center did nothing to keep Couch on the job. It can’t help that he has the same name as a rumored JD Vance sex object, either.

But hey, on Friday night, they’ll have a premiere for Amazon’s Melania “Don’t ask me anything about Jeffrey Epstein” Trump “documentary!”

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