Concert host cancels Trump-Kennedy Center Christmas Eve show in protest of name change

The arts center board of directors, which is chaired by President Donald Trump, voted earlier in December to shift the center's name to the Trump-Kennedy Center. Chuck Redd, the percussionist as well as host of the annually held Christmas Eve Jazz Concert, told reporters at the Associated Press, "When I saw the name change on the Kennedy Center website and then hours later on the building, I chose to cancel our concert."

“I’ve been performing at the Kennedy Center since the beginning of my career, and I was saddened to see this name change,” Redd added in another statement to reporters. The concert was slated to be livestreamed on Christmas Eve but was marked "canceled" on the center's website.

Last week, after the name was changed, the president said he was “surprised” by the decision but also “honored” that the board had voted to approve it. He had previously hinted that a change could be coming.

Some Democrat lawmakers have argued that the board does not have the authority to change the name of the performance center. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and other lawmakers said in a statement, “Beyond using the Kennedy Center to reward his friends and political allies, President Trump is now attempting to affix his name to yet another public institution without legal authority. Federal law established the Center as a memorial to President Kennedy and prohibits changing its name without Congressional action."

After Trump was sworn in for his second term, the president purged the center of the appointees put in by former President Joe Biden. Ric Grenell, a Trump ally, has been appointed as the interim executive director of the performing arts center.