CNN
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President Donald Trump drew charged reactions of both admiration and ire at the Kennedy Center’s opening night of “Les Misérables” – with a greeting of cheers and boos, drama at intermission and drag queens in the audience.
When the lights came on after the end of the first act Wednesday, many people cheered and clapped as the president and First Lady Melania Trump stood up. But a woman below, seated in the orchestra section, started yelling: “Felon, you’re a convicted felon.”
As cheers died down, and Trump walked out, her voice became clearer: “Convicted felon, rapist!” A security guard quickly approached, appearing to escort her out.
As the crowd waited anxiously for Trump to return to his seat, someone yelled out: “F**k Trump,” and the crowd responded by cheering and clapping loudly. Some yelled out: “We love you.” Others booed, and then an even louder cheer erupted when Trump appeared again.
He pumped his fist in the air three times – reminiscent of how he rallied his supporters after an assassination attempt against him last year in Pennsylvania, when he made the same motion and shouted to the crowd: “Fight, fight, fight.”
The night was emblematic of Trump’s approach in his second administration. Shunned from much of the cultural milieu of deep-blue Washington, DC, in his first term, he largely ignored it. This time, an emboldened Trump has seized control of one of the premiere cultural spots in the city, installing allies on the board who named him chairman and announcing plans to adjust the decor and schedule to his liking.
And, much like his approach to the negative reactions during the performance, he isn’t expressing much concern about his critics. His supporters are more than willing to drown out the naysayers.
When Trump first entered the theater, standing at the lip of the presidential box overlooking the crowd, he was met with loud cheers and boos. Then chants of “USA, USA, USA” broke out.
Darlene Webb, a self-identified Trump supporter since 2016, said the expletives and jeering just made her want to express her support more loudly.
“I just wanted to clap and yell over it, because at this type of performance I don’t think it was good for them to do that, professionally,” Webb said.
Cara Segur, a friend of Webb’s, said she “found it kind of ironic that he was here” given the subject matter of the musical.
In the backdrop of Wednesday night’s performance — the story of a former convict fighting for a second chance against a law enforcement officer’s dogged pursuit to put him back in prison — Trump has deployed the National Guard and hundreds of Marines to Los Angeles to quash protests, which were sparked by the administration’s immigration crackdown.
“Seeing some of the actors and actresses, it looked like they were singing at him, instead of just singing to the crowd. And it felt really powerful and I liked it,” Segur said.
Not all the protests against Trump’s presence at the Kennedy Center Wednesday night were vocal. Four drag queens sat below the presidential box, a visual pushback against Trump’s vow that there would be no more “woke” performances or drag shows at the Kennedy Center. One of the drag queens, Tara Hoot, said their appearance in full drag was “a message of inclusivity. I really love musicals, I mean I’m a drag queen.”
“A lot of people have been applauding, asking for pictures,” another drag queen who goes by Vagenesis said, waving a fan with the DC flag on it. “Some people are throwing some glances, confused about what they see, but that’s always to be expected wherever we go.”
Some in the audience bought tickets well before Trump decided to attend, including Carol Campion, her daughter Kristen Farren and her two grandchildren. Farren said she would like the Kennedy Center to “remain apolitical. It’s a beautiful, beautiful location that has been part of our country for a very long time, and I think it should just be dedication to the arts as it was meant to be.”
The performers, who did not make any sort of statement about Trump’s presence during the show, received a standing ovation from the audience. Trump and the first lady stood and clapped, as well as the entire presidential box, which included Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Vice President JD Vance, Second Lady Usha Vance and Kellyanne Conway, among others. Trump left before the lights came back on.
Before the show, the president and Melania Trump attended a VIP reception hosted by the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees intended to raise money to revamp the building.
Gold sponsors of the event were asked to contribute $2 million for 10 premier seats, a photo opportunity with Trump and 10 tickets to the VIP reception. Silver sponsors were expected to pay $100,000 for a photo opportunity with Trump, performance seating and two tickets to the VIP reception.
At the red carpet ahead of the performance, Trump said that $10 million had been raised for the Kennedy Center.
Trump has taken purposeful steps to reshape power at the Kennedy Center, installing allies on the board who elected him chairman. That includes his chief of staff Susie Wiles, Usha Vance, Bondi, White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s wife, Allison. He also appointed Fox News hosts Maria Bartiromo and Laura Ingraham, as well as “God Bless the USA” singer Lee Greenwood.
“We’re going to make it incredible,” Trump said on the red carpet before the show. “We have all the funding — we raised a lot tonight. We’ll put it — lot of money, we’re going to bring it back to the highest level, higher than it was ever before.”
Trump was asked while entering the venue about a previous CNN report that at least 10 to 12 cast members planned to boycott the performance due to his appearance. While it was not immediately clear how many cast members followed through on those plans, Trump said he was unbothered.
“I couldn’t care less, honestly I couldn’t,” he replied. “All I do is run the country – well.”
