Trump BLINDSIDED by MASS RESIGNATIONS

What this episode is about

A significant number of performers have resigned and canceled their scheduled appearances at the Kennedy Center in protest of Donald Trump's influence and alleged mismanagement of the venue, which has led to drastically reduced attendance and a mass exodus of talent. Notable cancellations include prominent acts like "Hamilton," the Washington National Opera, and Grammy-winning musicians, highlighting widespread discontent with the current administration's impact on the arts community.

Key takeaways

• Trump's 'vandalism' at the Kennedy Center shows power grabs can turn cultural landmarks into political playgrounds.
• When artists quit en masse, it's not just protest—it's a cultural exodus echoing discontent against authoritarianism.
• Attendance plummeting at the Kennedy Center suggests fewer people endorse a regime masquerading as a cultural institution.
• The 'Trump Kennedy Center' is a stark reminder: branding can attempt to rewrite history, yet can't erase legacy.
• Vandalism is in the eye of the beholder; for some, Trump’s name is a defacement, for others, a badge of loyalty.

Who speaks in this episode?

• Ben Folds (Guest) · 7 min speaking
• Unknown Host (Host) · 10 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 3:00: Washington National Opera, Ben Folds, Donald Trump, Hamilton
2. 3:00 – 6:00: Donald Trump, Ben Folds, National Symphony Orchestra
3. 6:00 – 9:00: National Symphony Orchestra, Donald Trump, Rostropovich
4. 9:00 – 12:00: National Symphony Orchestra, Washington National Opera
5. 15:00 – 16:36: Ben Folds, National Symphony Orchestra

Notable quotes from "Trump BLINDSIDED by MASS RESIGNATIONS"

• Now, about a dozen performers have looked at Donald Trump and his phony board at the Kennedy Center, which he vandalized and calls the Trump Kennedy Center unlawfully. And these performers are saying, We quit. We are not going.

  about Donald Trump · at 0:00

• We have a list of at least 10 additional acts that have cancelled at the Kennedy Center. Hamilton, of course, the Broadway musical. Chuck Red, the leader of the Kennedy Cent's…

  about Hamilton · at 0:46

• The developments at the Kennedy Center effective today I'm resigning as the adviser to the National Symphony Orchestra not for me he said and again you may remember that…

  about National Symphony Orchestra · at 2:20

• National Symphony Orchestra, one of the first directors of the orchestra, was Rostropovich. his name is so long that everyone just calls him Slava.

  about Rostropovich · at 7:34

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Donald Trump — Person · 4 mentions · first at 0:02
• Ben Folds — Person · 3 mentions · first at 1:44
  Doug Marone, Balloon, Amanda Room, and others. And then of course earlier in the year, you had Ben Folds immediately stepping down in February as an artistic advisor there at…
• Rostropovich — Person · 1 mention · first at 7:38
• Dmitri Shostakovich — Person · 1 mention
• Issa Rae — Person · 1 mention

Books & papers

• Hamilton — Book · 1 mention · first at 0:52
• Insecure — Book · 1 mention · first at 1:14
  Washington National Opera Gala set for May 16th. You have Issa Ray, the insecure star, cancelled a soldout March 16, 2025 stop. Bella Fleck, cancelled a trio of concerts with…

Companies & orgs

• National Symphony Orchestra — Company · 6 mentions · first at 2:25
• Washington National Opera — Company · 3 mentions · first at 0:31
  This propaganda vandalized center by this Trump regime. So, here's the latest right here. The Washington National Opera decided on Friday to move out of its longtime home at…

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 Now, about a dozen performers have looked at Donald Trump and his phony board at the Kennedy Center, which he vandalized and calls the Trump Kennedy Center unlawfully. And these performers are saying, "We quit. We are not going to be performing for this regime." Also, attendance is down so much. It's like no one's even showing up to this uh place, this this propaganda vandalized center by this Trump regime. So, here's the latest right here. The Washington National Opera decided on Friday to move out of its longtime home at the Kennedy Center, and they've been at the Kennedy Center since the 1970s, and they're saying goodbye there. Now, we have a list of at least 10 additional acts that have cancelled at the Kennedy Center. Hamilton, of course, the Broadway musical. Chuck Red, the leader of the Kennedy Cent's annual jazz jams Christmas. The Cookers, the jazz super group, cancelled a pair of shows. Steven

1:05 Schwarz, the wicked composer, withdrew as host of the Washington of the Washington National Opera Gala set for May 16th. You have Issa Ray, the insecure star, cancelled a soldout March 16, 2025 stop. Bella Fleck, cancelled a trio of concerts with the National Symphathy Orchestra scheduled for February 2025. Rihanna and Giddens, the Grammyinning musician, canceled the May 11th, 2025 concert at the Kennedy Center. Low cut Connie, the Philadelphia rockers, called off a February 2025 performance. Peter Wolf, Christy Lee, Doug Marone, Balloon, Amanda Room, and others. And then of course earlier in the year, you had Ben Folds immediately stepping down in February as an artistic advisor uh there at the Kennedy Center, Shondaanda Rimes, Renee Fleming, and others. And you remember, you may remember, we interviewed Ben Folds back in February when he resigned right away.

2:03 As soon as the Trump regime said that they were changing that board and they were going to be intervening with their propaganda, he was like, I am gone. He resigned from the National Sympathy Symphony Orchestra. um as Trump seized the uh center um his statement was given the developments at the Kennedy Center effective today I'm resigning as the adviser to the National Symphony Orchestra not for me he said and again you may remember that interview that I did with him which has since gone mega viral over two and a half million views here's what some DC residents are saying about the vandalizing of the Trump with Trump calling it the Trump Kennedy Center and vandalizing it by plastering his name on it. Here, play this clip.

2:49 Feeling like democracy died today. This is history happening today. And we should all be shocked. Shocked that a a felon, a convicted felon and a thug and by all means a grifter has just stuck his name on top of a national monument. This is a desecration.

3:12 Here's what Jim Aosta had to say when he was there that day. Let's play it. Well, here we are at the scene of yet another crime committed by Donald Trump. Uh he has vandalized the Kennedy Center by putting his name on it. And he just needs to understand that first of all, he can't do this single-handedly. Only Congress can authorize a change of name to the Kennedy Center. But yet, he doesn't care about the law. He doesn't care what is appropriate. Um he's gone and and vandalized the Kennedy Center which is we should note the John F.

3:45 Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. It was named after President Kennedy after he was assassinated. Donald Trump should show some respect for that. But of course he doesn't do that. And you know this is what needs to be said. We, the American people, are not going to call the Kennedy Center the Trump Kennedy Center, just like we're not going to call the Department of Defense, the Department of War, or the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of America. We, the sane, rational American people, are not going to go along with that. So, Trump can act like a child. He can be a vandal, put his name up on all of these buildings, but it's not going to change what the rest of us do uh in response to what has been a childish and lawless administration. Now, I want to bring in Ben Folds, American singer, songwriter, and composer. Ben Folds, great to have you back on the Midas Touch Network, and we interviewed you when you resigned as

4:40 artistic adviser to the National Symphony Orchestra back in February. A lot has happened since our last interview. Talk to us about what you're seeing right now with Trump vandalizing. H how do you contextualize all this?

4:54 Well, it's it's it's really sad. Um it it you know the uh the Kennedy Center uh had so many great missions and and and it is a memorial as well. It's it's uh it's as close to sacred stuff as you can get for our federal government. But you know, aside from that, it really is playing out roughly the way that uh that it felt it would for me a year ago. Uh, and I'm not saying that I understood how events would unfold exactly, but it was clearly the first step uh of uh it was it was an authoritarian move. It was an authoritarian first first step. And like obviously they weren't going to start by trying to steamroller late night comedians. They thought they would run over us first. And that's that's much easier because it's close to home and they know what they're, you know, and they know how to do it. Um, but now the things that are happening are no surprise because that's, you know, it wasn't just him. I I think people

5:53 misunderstand it's not just him going in wanting to book bands or something, you know, it's it's commandeering, uh, you know, the the the governments, the the the arts. Uh, and then from there, that's expression. That's fre that's freedom of expression. And from there, you move on to the networks and to Stephen Cobear and Jimmy Kimmel and 60 Minutes. and you just keep steamrollering. So, I was sick on my stomach when I quit because one, I knew they were going to run it in the in the ground. No one that they were appointing had any experience in arts uh administration, but that was never the point. Point was to take that, run over it, and move on. So, it's rotting over uh you know uh next to the PTOIC in the moment. And it's like it's just sad. You know,

6:38 one of the things that we talked about back in February was how this how the Kennedy Center was actually a place where people who fled repressive regimes whose artistic endeavors and pursuits were uh harmed and squashed by authoritarians could play the National Symphony Orchestra. You you talked about the history of some of these composers here who played at the Kennedy Center as a celebration of freedom that they found in the United States. And so you as a student of history saw the moment that Donald Trump was doing what he did with that board. You said this is just authoritarian 101. Talk to us about that unique history of the camp. Well, the the Kennedy Center and the well, the National Symphony Orchestra, who of course was an orchestra before the Kennedy Center was there. Um, they're a separate entity. They're just trapped in the building right now. Um, but the the National Symphony Orchestra, one of the

7:35 first directors of the orchestra, uh, was Rostropovich. Uh, his name is so long that everyone just calls him Slava. Uh uh and um he was he was uh uh Shastikovich was the famous Dimmitri Shastikovich famous composer. He was basically his right-hand man, an incredible chist and a great conductor. And he fled uh the Soviet Union. Uh and he found himself the director of uh of the National Orchestra 7 orchestra at the Kennedy Center. And you know like his his homie uh uh Shastikovich uh Shastikovich was constantly uh in danger of being arrested, his friends being arrested, tortured, killed because he was trying to make artistic stands. So what you know when you see you know a place being taken over like that you can think about what what uh Slavo would have thought coming from the USSR and being able to express himself being able to play his his you know his friend's music Shastikovich there without being

8:42 threatened because the the government had no say politics government dictator has no say over the arts. you leave that alone. That's for the people. When they want to take that over, that's just propaganda. And so that is what made me sick to begin with. And nothing that's unfolding now seems surprising. Putting Trump's name on the place. It's it is it's like um yeah, it's it's it's it's like uh he's, you know, spray painted his name on the side of it, but it's it's still the center it was. It's just being held hostage at the moment. And I'm kind of in some ways I think it's like it reminds me of the picture the photograph of or the footage of Hitler in front of the the Eiffel Tower. Like look look what I've got. You know that's what it seems like when he put his name on it.

9:34 What does it tell you though when you see the resignations uh and the other individuals uh quitting, you know, and everybody has their own time for it, you I I I don't fault someone who waited a little bit later or whatever. I mean, you know, you took the stand when you did because you saw what was happening and and you studied history that way. But what do you what do you make of what's happening, especially when it's like the Washington National Opera that's been there, you know, for 50 basically 50 years? And then what do you say to other individuals there who are performing but they're uncomfortable and they don't and they're afraid? are we going to get sued by Rick Grenell and he's like how do you navigate this first? What does it say to you about the resignations that how do you think people navigate it? Well, it's tricky because it's really different for everybody. I mean, for instance, my

10:26 friends in the in the National Symphony Orchestra, some of them have varying views about how they should be handling this, but nobody's happy or inspired by it. They're really worried about their jobs and they're in a different position than me. I was in a position to draw attention uh to to this and I knew that as a curator that there's no way that I could curate uh uh fairly and safely. I can't bring an artisan and who who might have different views than Rick Grenell or Trump. I can't bring those people in. Like look, they they they had uh they had uh Yasmin Williams, you know, booed that they're paid to do it. Um, so yeah, um, I think that everyone has to find their own space there. I personally wouldn't wouldn't touch the place while it's while it's nuclear right now because I don't think that you're really I don't I wouldn't feel safe playing there. I I wouldn't think that I was in good hands. I

11:29 wouldn't think people are going to show up. Even if I'm just going to be a total capitalist about it, it's like, yeah, let the market speak. How's the Kennedy Center doing? Oops. Don't play there. That venue that venue can't draw crowds. So, they don't know what they're doing there. So, um I don't see any reason to be there. Now, you know, like an an organization like the the uh the opera, um they have a board, they have all kinds of contracts with them. We'll see what happens. But the individuals that work for them are just people trying to make a living in the arts and they just got to show up at work. And and it's it's really really unfortunate. It's really sad. It makes me sad for all of them.

12:07 You know, as a student of history, you foreseeing I mean, look, when when Trump won uh and started these pronouncements seemed it was going in a direction. Uh but you know recognizing what it meant when he had his eye on the Kennedy Center, you know, you were able to say that, you know, there's something specific about this uh view of dominating cultural zeitgeist that's that authoritarians in the past have seized on and he has that, you know, demented malignant narcissistic grasp. But like now where we're at, you know, we're a year into this thing, you know, uh there have been big no kings protests. The the institutions have bent and many have broken. There's resiliency in the people. So how do you see where we are kind of right now January be mid to beginning of January 2026? And what do you want to see?

13:09 Well, I think you know artists it's the same as I felt uh a year ago. I think that the responsibility uh and the right of uh of artists is to express honestly and and it's a little bit sometimes like reportage, you know, it's a little bit like like journalism and um and I think that that is what uh artists need to do right now while we still can't. Obviously, you don't have to do it at the Kennedy Center. It was an amazing place with an amazing mission and all kinds of um you know, access to facilities and it was beautiful. And by the way, it used to make uh you know, used to make some money and uh now it's like not run well. the artist right now, we should all be expressing ourselves with no there was a time uh I think and I came up in this era of the '9s, this sort of shut up and sing era where you're worried you're going to alienate your artist. I think right now is the time to absolutely stand up and and

14:16 express yourself. If that's political, do it. If it's social, do it. If it's what you love for lunch, hey, that's fine, too. But be honest in your reporting because you may not have that luxury if we keep going like we're going. Better to do it now. Better to show up at the protest now than have to show up in the protest in a year and worried about getting, you know, jailed and killed. It's now is the time to to and the artist's job has always been to be a little ahead of the curve where things are going. the the artist can explain that in terms that no one else is allowed to. It doesn't have to make sense. It has to feel right. And and that's what moves people. And the reason the arts are important and all these people said they weren't important that we're that we're on the right side of the government that said arts don't matter, we don't need to fund it. Boy, they sure thought it was important when

15:10 it came to the Kennedy Center. They took that over in like one month. So, uh, so the arts are important and the artist is really needed right now.

15:20 Yeah. And I see that you're part of the lineup of the Grand Park Music Festival in Chicago and you're playing in other venues where you're where you're giving people hope there and in areas too that, you know, the Trump regime is is is is attacking. And so, and and but but before we go, any anything else you you wanted to mention before we go?

15:39 No, no. I I you know I think it it when the when this National Symphony Orchestra has opportunities to play like at Wolf Trap and they're playing in other venues, I really would love to see people uh in the DC area support that. The the National Symphony Orchestra is not the Kennedy Center and and there are some of the finest musicians in the country and they're just basically held hostage inside a a building with someone spray painted their name on the outside. No one shows up to their shows anymore. And that's what I would tell people.

16:11 Ben Folds, thanks for joining us again. Thanks, Ben. Everybody, hit subscribe. Let's get to 6 million subscribers. Want to stay plugged in? Become a subscriber to our Substack at midasplus.com. You'll get daily recaps from Ron Philipski, add free episodes of our podcast, and more exclusive content only available at midasplus.com.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Trump BLINDSIDED by MASS RESIGNATIONS"?

Ben Folds (Guest), Unknown Host (Host).

What is "Trump BLINDSIDED by MASS RESIGNATIONS" about?

A significant number of performers have resigned and canceled their scheduled appearances at the Kennedy Center in protest of Donald Trump's influence and alleged mismanagement of the venue, which has led to drastically reduced attendance and a mass exodus of talent. Notable cancellations include prominent acts like "Hamilton," the Washington National Opera, and Grammy-winning musicians,…

What is mentioned in this MeidasTouch episode?

9 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including National Symphony Orchestra, Donald Trump, Washington National Opera, Ben Folds, Hamilton, Insecure. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Trump BLINDSIDED by MASS RESIGNATIONS"?

The episode runs 17 min; the transcript is about 2,846 words in 22 timestamped sections.

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