X/@Andrew__Roth
Vice President JD Vance was booed during a concert at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. on Thursday after President Donald Trump fired the board of directors and took over as the center’s chairman.
In a video posted to social media by The Guardian global affairs correspondent Andrew Roth, audience members could be heard loudly booing the vice president as he and second lady Usha Vance took their seats in a box for a performance by the National Symphony Orchestra.
Seemingly unfazed by the negative reception, Vance could be seen waving, smiling, and pointing to the audience as the booing lasted for around thirty seconds.
“The concert started about 20 minutes late because of added security measures,” and Vance “stayed for the entire concert,” according to the New York Times.
After President Trump purged the Kennedy Center’s board of directors last month, the board was packed with allies of the president, including second lady Vance, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino, Fox News host Laura Ingraham, and Allison Lutnick – wife of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
Trump was then elected chairman of the center by the board soon after.
The move received heavy criticism, with the musical Hamilton canceling its scheduled 2026 performances at the center in protest.
“Our show simply cannot, in good conscience, participate and be a part of this new culture that is being imposed on the Kennedy Center,” Hamilton producer Jeffrey Seller said in a statement.
