Comment | Opportunists are to blame for the Kennedy Center’s downfall
Philippa Pham Hughes, an artist and former social practice resident at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, argues that opportunists—not collaborators—are responsible for the institution's decline under Donald Trump's second term. She describes how Trump fired longtime president Deborah Rutter, purged the board, replaced it with loyalists, cancelled drag performances, and eliminated social impact programs. Hughes contends that anyone who took a job at the Kennedy Center after summer 2025 knew exactly what they were joining, and that opportunists who claim they can do good from the inside are providing legitimacy and cover for the administration's damage.