Donald Trump Was Booed While Attending 'Les Miserables' at the Kennedy Center

The reception for President Trump and the First Lady during their first visit to the Kennedy Center was, it's fair to say, a mixed bag. The president was attending the opening night of Les Misérables, and rumors swirled that he was actually booed upon arriving at the famous Washington, D.C. theater.

These boos come after Trump made significant changes to the staffing of the Kennedy Center, and changed the kind of things that could be performed at the venue. Here's what we know.

Videos that are viewable on X (formerly Twitter) appear to show Trump receiving a mix of cheers and boos as he enters the Kennedy Center. This came after the Vances, who were also in attendance last night, were booed while attending a performance at the theater in March. The show also featured a different cast than the rest of the month-long run.

That's because, according to reporting from CNN, 10 of the 12 principal actors in the musical were not planning to perform on the night that Trump attended. The cast was apparently given a choice about whether or not they wanted to perform, and several lead actors and members of the ensemble opted to take the night off. While they didn't release any sort of statement, it's likely that that decision was driven by opposition to the president for at least some members of the ensemble.

Just days into Trump's second administration, he installed himself as the head of the Kennedy Center and purged the board of its "woke" members. Now, the board is controlled by conservative supporters of the president, and Richard Grenell, who is on the president's staff, is serving as the Center's president and interim director.

Following news that much of the cast had not performed, Grenell released a statement saying that he definitely wasn't mad about it.

“The Kennedy Center will no longer fund intolerance. Any performer who isn’t professional enough to perform for patrons of all backgrounds, regardless of political affiliation, won’t be welcomed," he said in his statement.

“In fact, we think it would be important to out those vapid and intolerant artists to ensure producers know who they shouldn’t hire — and that the public knows which shows have political litmus tests to sit in the audience," the statement continued. "The Kennedy Center wants to be a place where people of all political stripes sit next to each other and never ask who someone voted for but instead enjoys a performance together."

Trump has been known to use songs from Les Misérables at various events throughout his political career. The show, which is about a people's uprising against the French government, might be an unsettling thing for any leader to sit through. Trump, though, seems to enjoy the music itself and has been known to be a fan of musicals more generally. As long as they don't get too woke.