President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he intends to replace the Trump-Kennedy Center chief Ric Grenell.
“I am pleased to announce that Matt Floca, subject to the approval of the Board of Directors, will be named the Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director, of THE TRUMP KENNEDY CENTER where, as Vice President of Operations, Matt has helped us achieve tremendous progress in bringing the Center to the highest level of Excellence!” the president wrote on Truth Social.
While specifying no reason for the replacement, he did praise Grenell for having “done an excellent job” while at the post.
Donald J. Trump Truth Social 03.12.26 04:35 PM EST pic.twitter.com/RCwWIZjvsW
— Commentary Donald J. Trump Posts From Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) March 13, 2026
The announcement from Trump came a few hours after CNN ran a report predicting Grenell’s ouster on the basis that Trump has “become frustrated with a slew of negative headlines about” the Center.
“Grenell’s tenure … has been marked by tumult, plagued by high-profile performance cancellations, protests, declining ticket sales and financial strain as he sought to execute the president’s vision for the arts center,” CNN alleged.
“While leading the Kennedy Center, Grenell often bucked the trends of the arts world, defying traditions and stretching norms in place for decades. Critics contended that led to strain and brought irreparable harm to the institution,” according to the network.
Notice how the network referred to it as the Kennedy Center. In December, the board of trustees at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts voted to rename it to the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.
However, the press has stubbornly refused to adopt this new name because they disagree with the politics of the center’s board. Similarly, the “critics” cited by CNN were likely just leftists upset with the Trump administration’s decision to rename the center.
Indeed, one group of artists, soprano Renée Fleming and composer Philip Glass, cancelled their performance at the center just because of the name change.
Grenell at one point threatened to sue artists who tried to cancel.
“He threatened to sue Chuck Redd, a jazz drummer, after the musician backed out of hosting the center’s annual ‘Jazz Jam,’ which Redd had presided over since 2006,” according to NBC News.
A White House official, for their part, insisted to CNN that Grenell has always been just an interim president whose primary job was to manage the transition from one administration to the next.
Another source “said Grenell did not want to stay through a planned, lengthy renovation of the facility” and that “he plans to transition out of the role in the next few weeks and finish up his work fundraising,” according to CNN.
The president announced last month that he intends to shut down the “tired, broken, and dilapidated” Center for two years for a total rehaul. He made the announcement in a Truth Social post:
Trump will make the Kennedy Center Great Again! pic.twitter.com/YoQWGXNArM
— 🇺🇸 Ryan 🇺🇸 (@Ryan_In_Mi) February 2, 2026
“I have determined that the fastest way to bring The Trump Kennedy Center to the highest level of Success, Beauty, and Grandeur, is to cease Entertainment Operations for an approximately two year period of time, with a scheduled Grand Reopening that will rival and surpass anything that has taken place with respect to such a Facility before,” he wrote.
“Therefore, The Trump Kennedy Center will close on July 4th, 2026, in honor of the 250th Anniversary of our Country, whereupon we will simultaneously begin Construction of the new and spectacular Entertainment Complex,” he added.
The announcement prompted even more backlash from liberals, including from the Kennedy family, not, of course, including HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Despite all this, one of CNN’s sources swore that Trump has been “souring” on Grenell.
“Ric worked really hard to keep in Trump’s good graces, but Trump got tired of turning on the news and hearing every day how bad the Kennedy Center was being run and (how) Trump is killing it,” the source said.
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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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