“Matt [Floca] has helped us achieve tremendous progress,” president says of incoming executive director of institution Trump reshaped and renamed after himself
Richard Grenell, a Trump crony who oversaw the Kennedy Center‘s transition into The Trump Kennedy Center, is leaving the institution. The president announced Grenell’s departure on his Truth Social platform on Friday. “Ric Grenell has done an excellent job in helping to coordinate various elements of the Center during the transition period, and I want to thank him for the outstanding work he has done,” President Trump wrote.
Grenell assumed the interim executive director role at the Kennedy Center in February 2025. Since then, he has been instrumental in Trumpifying the institution, overseeing its renaming as The Trump Kennedy Center and the rebranding of its signature event to become The Trump Kennedy Center Honors.
The changes prompted sharp criticism from the arts community. Renee Fleming, Philip Glass, and the Washington City Opera all canceled planned performances at the hall. The Center will close this summer to be renovated over the next two years.
In his Truth Social post, Trump announced that Matt Floca, the Center’s vice president of facilities operations, would be named chief operating officer and executive director, “subject to the approval of the Board of Directors.” Trump gutted the previous board of directors and stacked it with loyalists who elected him chairman paving the path to the institution’s renaming, which may be illegal.
“Matt has helped us achieve tremendous progress in bringing the Center to the highest level of Excellence!” Trump wrote. “A Complete Reconstruction of THE TRUMP KENNEDY CENTER will begin after the July 4th Celebration, with a scheduled Grand Re-Opening in approximately two years.”
Floca will have to make sure that the “Trump Kennedy Center Honors” go forward this year, even though it won’t have a home. “It will probably just be in a smaller venue, which just means ticket demand will be even higher,” Grenell told the press earlier this month. No matter where it’s held, though, it will be different from what it once was. The host of the last awards show was none other than Donald J. Trump.
