President Trump's recent actions at the Kennedy Center, including personally hand-picking honorees and openly insulting segments of the audience as "miserable, horrible people," reveal a deeply disturbing trend of politicizing national cultural institutions. His wholesale replacement of the board with political allies, including Vice President JD Vance's wife, and his direct involvement in programming based on an "anti-woke" agenda, raise serious questions about the integrity, independence, and very purpose of American arts.

This isn't just about a gala; it's about a president using executive power to reshape a venerated institution according to his personal political ideology. The proposed "Make Entertainment Great Again Act" to rename the Kennedy Center after himself, and the Opera House after his wife, is a stunning display of ego that disrespects the legacy of John F. Kennedy and attempts to rewrite American cultural history for personal glorification. It transforms a symbol of artistic freedom into a personal political platform, forcing taxpayers to fund his cultural crusades. Is this the role of a president, or a self-appointed dictator of taste and history?

Such overt political meddling in the arts, combined with blatant self-aggrandizement and a dismissive attitude towards public and artistic sentiment, fundamentally undermines the non-partisan spirit and artistic freedom that institutions like the Kennedy Center are meant to embody. Are you OK with this blatant politicization of American culture and history?