The Trump-Kennedy Center is fighting back hard after a Trump Derangement Syndrome-afflicted musician cancelled his scheduled Christmas Eve performance at the last minute.
Chuck Redd, a drummer and vibraphone player, has been performing holiday “Jazz Jams” at the Trump-Kennedy Center since 2006.
But in an email sent on Wednesday to the Associated Press, Redd announced that he’s pulled out of this year’s concert because of the Trump-Kennedy Center’s recent renaming.
As previously reported, recently the board of trustees at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts voted to rename the facility the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.
This move angered Democrats, including, evidently, Redd.
BREAKING: Chuck Redd says that he decided to cancel his Christmas Eve Jazz Concert at the Kennedy Center because President Trump’s name was added to it.
We don’t care, Chuck. pic.twitter.com/otUtGR6HGP
— Ian Jaeger (@IanJaeger29) December 25, 2025
“When I saw the name change on the Kennedy Center website and then hours later on the building, I chose to cancel our concert,” Redd told the AP. “One of the many reasons that it was very sad to have had to cancel.”
But this, in turn, angered Trump-Kennedy Center president Richard Grenell.
“Your decision to withdraw at the last moment — explicitly in response to the Center’s recent renaming, which honors President Trump’s extraordinary efforts to save this national treasure — is classic intolerance and very costly to a non-profit Arts institution,” he wrote to Redd in a letter shared with the New York Post.
“Regrettably, your action surrenders to the sad bullying tactics employed by certain elements on the left, who have sought to intimidate artists into boycotting performances at our national cultural center,” he added.
Grenell continued by claiming that the recent “Jazz Jams” performance has been “lagging considerably behind our other Christmas and holiday offerings.”
“The contrast between the public’s lack of interest in your show with the success we are experiencing under our new chairman is drastic,” he wrote. “The most avant-garde and well-regarded performers in your genre will still perform regularly, and unlike you, they’ll do it to sold out crowds regardless of their political leanings.”
And finally, Grenell revealed that he’ll be pursuing $1 million in damages from Redd.
“This is your official notice that we will seek $1 million in damages from you for this political stunt,” he wrote.
Ouch.
In a statement to the Post, Trump-Kennedy Center Vice President of Public Relations Roma Daravi doubled down.
Set in stone, a bipartisan institution👏🏼🇺🇸
The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. pic.twitter.com/uzdRmKofsV
— Roma Daravi (@romadaravi) December 19, 2025
“Any artist cancelling their show at the Trump Kennedy Center over political differences isn’t courageous or principled — they are selfish, intolerant, and have failed to meet the basic duty of a public artist: to perform for all people,” she said.
“Art is a shared cultural experience meant to unite, not exclude. The Trump Kennedy Center is a true bipartisan institution that welcomes artists and patrons from all backgrounds — great art transcends politics, and America’s cultural center remains committed to presenting popular programming that inspires and resonates with all audiences,” she added.
This comes amid what has been days of anger over the renaming of the Kennedy Center to the Trump-Kennedy Center.
“It is beyond comprehension that this sitting president has sought to rename this great memorial dedicated to President Kennedy,” Kennedy family member Maria Shriver angrily tweeted after the name change. “It is beyond wild that he would think adding his name in front of President Kennedy’s name is acceptable. It is not.”
“Can we not see what is happening here? C’mon, my fellow Americans! Wake up! This is not dignified. This is not funny. This is way beneath the stature of the job. It’s downright weird. It’s obsessive in a weird way. Just when you think somone [SIC] can’t stoop any lower, down they go…,” she added.
Meanwhile, Rep. Joyce Beatty, a Democrat, has filed a lawsuit demanding the removal of President Donald Trump’s name from the Center.
“[I]n scenes more reminiscent of authoritarian regimes than the American republic – the sitting President and his handpicked loyalists renamed this storied center after President Trump,” the lawsuit states, according to the BBC.
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V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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