JD Vance booed at Kennedy Center after Trump takeover
Credit: Andrew Roth / The Guardian
JD Vance has been booed by audience members at the Kennedy Center following Donald Trump's decision to oust the prestigious venue's leadership.
Jeers rang out as the US vice-president sat down with his wife, Usha, ahead of a concert by the National Symphony Orchestra at the site in Washington on Thursday evening.
It comes after Mr Trump sacked the chairman of the Kennedy Center board and its 13 trustees last month – making himself chairman and Richard Grenell its interim leader.
Mrs Vance was also made a board member, having previously served on the board of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra between 2020 and 2022.
Mr Grenell criticised the audience for booing, accusing them of being 'intolerant'.
Following the shake-up in February, Mr Trump said: 'So we took over the Kennedy Center.
'We didn't like what they were showing and various other things. We're going to make sure that it's good and it's not going to be woke. There's no more woke in this country.'
Such public outbursts are highly unusual at classic music concerts, where audiences are expected to be quiet and cordial.
However, it demonstrates the backlash generated by Mr Trump's overhaul of the venue.
Critics have included the producers of Hamilton, the American history musical, who cancelled an upcoming run of the show at the concert hall.
Mr Grenell accused Lin-Manuel Miranda, the show's creator, and Jeffrey Seller, its producer, of orchestrating a 'publicity stunt'.
The vice-president responded to the hostile reception by waving, pointing at the crowd and smiling awkwardly at his wife.
The boos lasted for several moments, with one person heard shouting: 'You ruined this place'.
The concert had already been delayed by nearly 30 minutes because of Secret Service checks as Mr Vance's motorcade pulled in.
Audience members later joked about the concert's all-Russian line-up, given Mr Vance's stance on the war in Ukraine.
Shortly after Russia's invasion of the country in February 2022, Mr Vance said: 'I gotta be honest with you, I don't really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another.'
The Republican was also involved in the row between Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine's president, and Mr Trump in the Oval Office last month.
Since the White House confrontation, Mr Vance has been targeted by angry members of the public on several occasions.
Pro-Ukraine protesters confronted him as he walked with his family in Cincinnati over the weekend, while he was also jeered during a recent skiing holiday in Vermont. One protester told him: 'Go and ski in Russia'.
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