“Everything Trump Touches Dies”: Kennedy Center Ticket Sales Plunge Under MAGA Overhaul, Sparking “Curse” Backlash and Viral Melania Jab
Washington, D.C. — The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, once a glittering beacon of American culture on the Potomac, is hemorrhaging revenue nine months after President Donald Trump installed himself as board chair and unleashed a MAGA makeover. A Washington Post analysis reveals ticket sales have cratered to their lowest since the pandemic, with over 43% of seats—more than 50,000 in a single month—going unsold across the Opera House, Concert Hall, and Eisenhower Theater. Critics are dubbing it the “MAGA curse,” a toxic spell that’s driven away donors, artists, and audiences, leaving the federally chartered institution—a living memorial to JFK—gasping for air amid empty velvet seats and desperate comp ticket giveaways.
The plunge, detailed in a sweeping Post probe released Friday, traces directly to Trump’s February power grab. Fresh off his 2024 reelection, the president fired the entire board of trustees, purged “woke” programming, and appointed himself chair, vowing to “make it hot again” by infusing “patriotic” fare that celebrates “America’s great history and traditions.” He tapped Richard Grenell, the openly gay former acting director of national intelligence and a Trump loyalist, to helm day-to-day operations. Grenell, in turn, stacked the board with MAGA allies like Fox News host Laura Ingraham and singer Kid Rock, neither known for deep arts pedigrees. The overhaul banned drag shows, sidelined LGBTQ+ themed productions, and prioritized faith-based spectacles—moves that alienated the Center’s traditional base of liberal-leaning theatergoers and international tourists.
By the numbers, it’s a bloodbath. Single-ticket sales for April and May tanked 50% year-over-year, while theater subscriptions—Trump’s pet focus—nosedived 82%. September through mid-October saw just 57% occupancy, down from 93% in 2024, costing an estimated $1 million in lost revenue over 45 days. High-profile flops include a Bee Gees tribute selling only 34% of seats and Jason Robert Brown’s Parade revival, bumped to a smaller venue after projections fizzled. Even staples like the National Symphony Orchestra and The Sound of Music revival left thousands of chairs vacant.
The fallout? A cash crunch that’s spooked longtime donors, who once funneled $100 million annually but now ghost the galas. Former president Michael Kaiser warned the steep decline could torpedo future fundraising, as the Center’s endowment—bolstered by bipartisan icons from JFK to Reagan—erodes under partisan siege. Staffers, speaking anonymously, report a surge in free tickets to paper the house, with one quipping to the Post: “This downturn isn’t just about pricing or programming—it feels directly tied to the new regime’s leadership shift and the broader political climate.” Patrons echo the sentiment: “I’m choosing not to attend because of what the Kennedy Center now represents,” one buyer told reporters, calling the once-bipartisan venue “polarizing.”
Artists have voted with their feet, too. Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda yanked the musical’s 2026 tour stop, telling Out magazine the decision was “morally not complicated.” “The Kennedy Center has historically been a bipartisan birthplace for the best of our nation’s arts,” Miranda said, “but Trump’s administration politicized that—we were just not going to participate.” Other pullouts include queer icons like Cynthia Erivo and productions flagged as “anti-American,” per Grenell’s memos. The exodus has cascaded: Broadway tours reroute to rivals like the Smithsonian, and international acts cite safety fears amid Trump’s National Guard deployments in D.C., which have chilled tourism and nightlife.
Enter the “MAGA curse”—a viral meme born from the rubble, positing Trump’s touch as kryptonite to prestige. On X, the hashtag #MAGAcursed exploded Friday, with users roasting the Center as “Trump’s tomb for the arts.” One post from @littlewisehen racked up 152 likes: “Donald, der Kulturzerstörer… The Kennedy Center’s become a ghost town since Trump took it over. Ticket sales have cratered—more than 40% of seats now sit empty.” Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel piled on with a satirical skit mocking “Trumpian” lineups like Kanye West Side Story and Hitler on the Roof, quipping, “We love Kanye and this one’s going to be too good to not see. Get it? ‘Nazi.'”
The cruelest cut? A savage viral jab at First Lady Melania Trump: “Good news, Melania—you’re gonna live forever!” It riffs on her “Be Best” anti-bullying campaign, implying the curse spares only her amid the carnage. The meme, first tweeted by @realTuckFrumper and amplified by 299 likes, has spawned threads tying it to Trump’s history of flops—from his bankrupt casinos to the defunct Trump Shuttle airline. “Everything Trump touches dies,” @MikeSington posted in June, a line echoed by @anyonewantchips: “The Kennedy Center goes to shit ever since Trump’s hostile takeover: ticket sales nosedive, donations dry up, artists cancel.”
Defenders push back. Grenell touted a “record-breaking” $58 million donor haul over 30 days on Friday, claiming it’s from “new” supporters untouched by the “coastal elite” boycott. Trump, at a Mar-a-Lago fundraiser, dismissed the Post as “fake news from the failing Washington Compost,” insisting the Center’s woes stem from “Biden’s hangover economy” and vowing a December gala with Les Misérables to “celebrate our victory.” Yet insiders whisper of boardroom panic: Subscriptions are down $1.6 million (36%), and the endowment—once a bipartisan war chest—is bleeding.
Broader forces compound the curse. A post-pandemic arts slump lingers, but the Post attributes the Center’s outlier status to its Trump branding—now synonymous with division in a city where 92% voted blue in 2024. Reddit’s r/nova thread on the report ballooned to 481 upvotes, with users speculating Trump eyes the prime Potomac real estate for a “Trump-Dubai Casino” if insolvency hits. “Make Kennedy Center financially insolvent so he can buy up the land,” one commenter sneered.
As the curtain falls on another empty house, the Kennedy Center’s plight underscores a cultural cold war: Can Trump’s “America First” arts reboot woo the heartland faithful, or will it forever taint JFK’s legacy? With 2026 midterms looming and boycotts hardening, the curse shows no signs of lifting. For now, the stage is set for tragedy—starring an unwilling nation, and a venue that’s learned: In Trump’s orbit, applause is the first casualty.
