Earlier this year, when President Donald Trump took over as board chair at the Kennedy Center, he promised to "make it hot again" by bringing in more audiences and getting rid of "woke" programming. Eight months later, the Washington, D.C. institution has seen a steep decline in ticket sales, according to a report from the Washington Post. 

In an analysis of ticketing data spanning September 3 to October 19, representing shows that were programmed by Trump appointee Richard Grenell, the Post found that 43 percent of all tickets remained unsold. That's a sharp increase in unsold seats from previous years. In 2024 around the same period, only seven percent of tickets were unsold.

The Post also broke down the unsold tickets by show. The national tour of Jason Robert Brown's Parade revival (which was moved from its original venue of the Opera House, with 2,364-seats, to the smaller 1,161-seat Eisenhower Theater) sold 57 percent of its seats across its run. It performed better than other offerings at the Kennedy Center; the concert Stayin’ Alive: The Bee Gees & Beyond with Rajaton only sold 34 percent of its available seats.

The Post attributed this decline to three factors: an industry-wide trend of lower arts attendance, Trump's deployment of the National Guard to Washington, D.C. (which has dampened the city's nightlife scene), and its former patron base boycotting the institution. In addition, a number of artists and productions cancelling their Kennedy Center stops (including the Broadway tour of Hamilton), have also contributed to an overall negative image of the Washington, D.C. institution. Earlier this summer, a showing of Les Misérables attended by Trump saw cast members sitting out the performance.

Said an anonymous Kennedy Center staff member to the Washington 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. I’ve heard from ticket buyers who say they’re choosing not to attend because of what the Kennedy Center now represents. The brand itself has become polarizing, which is unprecedented in my experience.”

The Washington Post's article confirms previous reporting from the New York Times which found that single ticket sales were down 50 percent in April and May from the same time period in 2024.