Free Republic

Despite President Joe Biden’s abysmal approval ratings as the nation suffers from the supply-chain crisis and crippling inflation, elites attending the Kennedy Center Honors on Sunday night gave the increasingly polarizing president a standing ovation. The moment occurred when comedian David Letterman bashed former President Donald Trump to acknowledge President Biden, who kept his mask fully on during the event.

Despite battling a cold, President Biden has packed his schedule this weekend with a maskless dinner out on the town and plans to attend a Kennedy Center event. During a Friday speech on the disappointing jobs report, Biden spoke in a hoarse voice and coughed multiple times during the event.

The Kennedy Center reached a deal with its National Symphony Orchestra that includes pay cuts and wage freezes after the organization previously attempted to furlough the musicians. The center released a statement Tuesday announcing an agreement with the musicians that includes pay cuts of 35 percent for the next six months, a freezing of wages for the 2020-21 season and a delay of a planned pay increase. As part of the deal, the District of Columbia Federation of Musicians, the union that represents the orchestra members, said it will drop its grievance filed against the Kennedy Center, The Washington Free...

In the wake of the coronavirus, the performing arts have the chance to come back stronger than ever. Here's how. Amid the furor over the $25 million bailout of the Kennedy Center and their subsequent mass firings, one thing has become abundantly clear. The Wuhan virus is going to devastate performing arts organizations all over the country. Between the lack of ticket sales during the shut down, and lower sales and donations in the woeful economic aftermath, it is likely that many wonÂ’t survive.Non-profit performing arts organizations, which is pretty much all of them, operate on razor-thin budgets as it...

Last week The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, whose patrons tend to be very wealthy, received a whopping $25 million American taxpayer dollars. The funding was part of Washington's $2 trillion Wuhan coronavirus rescue package.  Politicians like Speaker Nancy Pelosi and lobbyists backing the center argued musicians, who are no longer working, needed financial stability like workers in other parts of the country. But despite the pleading and justification for the emergency funding, musicians and other workers are being fired anyway.  NEW: According to internal discussions and documents obtained by RCP, the Kennedy Center intends to furlough 60%...

The Gateway Pundit has received audio of a video conference call between Kennedy Center President Deborah Rutter, members of their human resources department, and 200 of their employees. The audio was first obtained by Jack Posobiec of One America News. As the Gateway Pundit previously reported, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts infamously received a controversial $25 million from Democrats in the coronavirus relief package — and just hours later they told their performers and employees that they will not be getting paychecks. During the leaked conference call, which took place on March 26, Rutter repeatedly makes...

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts informed members of the National Symphony Orchestra that they would no longer be paid just hours after President Trump signed a $25 million taxpayer bailout for the cultural center, according to an email obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. Nearly 100 musicians will no longer receive paychecks after April 3, according to an email from the orchestra's Covid-19 Advisory Committee. "The Covid-19 Advisory Committee was broadsided today during our conversation with [Kennedy Center President] Deborah Rutter," the email says. "Ms. Rutter abruptly informed us today that the last paycheck for all...

Hours after President Trump signed a stimulus bill that includes $25 million for the Kennedy Center, its president Deborah Rutter told the National Symphony Orchestra that their paychecks would end this week. The Kennedy Center — a performing arts center and memorial for President John F. Kennedy — canceled performances from March 12 to May 10 as government officials restrict large gatherings to combat the spread of the coronavirus. In a conference call Friday night, Rutter told orchestra leaders that the 96 musicians would receive their last paycheck on April 3 and that they will not be paid until the...

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts informed members of the National Symphony Orchestra that they would no longer be paid just hours after President Trump signed a $25 million taxpayer bailout for the cultural center, according to an email obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. Nearly 100 musicians will no longer receive paychecks after April 3, according to an email from the orchestra's Covid-19 Advisory Committee. "The Covid-19 Advisory Committee was broadsided today during our conversation with [Kennedy Center President] Deborah Rutter," the email says. "Ms. Rutter abruptly informed us today that the last paycheck for all...

The Senate stimulus compromise package aimed at helping Americans cope with the economic woes caused by the coronavirus crisis includes millions for the arts. The inclusion in the Senate bill follows an outcry from conservatives over a host of provisions in the House Democrats' coronavirus proposal earlier this week, which critics said addressed liberal priorities rather than the coronavirus pandemic. The appropriations text, released Wednesday along with the draft bill itself, includes $25 million in funding for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C. That is down from the $35 million that was included in...

In what he said was an unscripted acceptance speech on Sunday night, comedian Dave Chappelle continued his recent campaign against cancel culture—while openly defying a smoking ban and defending the right to bear arms too. Chappelle was fêted on Sunday night in Washington, D.C., as this year's recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, a lifetime achievement award bestowed annually by the Kennedy Center. Known for his irreverent and boundary-pushing sketch comedy show and standup routines, Chappelle has never shied away from an opportunity to eviscerate political correctness for laughs. Sunday's event was no different, according to media...

President Donald Trump said Tuesday he'll appoint Oscar-winning actor Jon Voight to the board of trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for the remainder of a six-year-term to end in September of 2024. The actor known for TV roles in hit shows like Ray Donovan and 24 — and for his real-life role as Angelina Jolie's father — is one of the most outspoken conservatives in Hollywood and he hasn't shied from his support of Trump. A former liberal who said he was traumatized by the assassination of President Kennedy, Voight was a critic of...

Three men were charged in an indictment returned Nov. 27 for their roles in a scheme to defraud U.S. Military contracts in Afghanistan, engaging in illegal commerce in Iran, and laundering money internationally. Their conduct was in connection to two multi-million dollar contracts to provide supplies and logistical support to U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Lechleitner of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C. and Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) John F. Sopko made the announcement. Abul...

CBS’ broadcast of Kennedy Center Honors clocked its lowest ratings result in people-meter history, dating back to 1987. The Tuesday 9-11 PM broadcast fumbled 28% of last year’s 8.620 million total viewers, to 6.169 million. The demo dive: 30% from last year’s 1.0 rating to 0.7. The 2006 telecast ran on the same Tuesday, December 27, though the extra day between the broadcast and Christmas might have benefited last year’s broadcast by separating it further from holiday distractions and travel. The broadcast should have been a ratings humdinger, marking, as it did, the ceremony’s 40th anniversary and John F. Kennedy’s...

If you had been hoping to see Norman Lear and Donald Trump face off at the Kennedy Center Honors in December, the former Celebrity Apprentice host just dashed your dreams and likely avoided a very uncomfortable confrontation of sorts. “The President and First Lady have decided not to participate in this year’s activities to allow the honorees to celebrate without any political distraction,” coldly announced the White House early in the AM today regarding the 40th Honors. “First Lady Melania Trump, along with her husband President Donald J. Trump, extend their sincerest congratulations and well wishes to all of this...

President Trump is skipping this year’s Kennedy Center honors after backlash from the honorees. Three of this year’s five award winners, including television icon Norman Lear, singer Lionel Richie and dancer Carmen de Lavallade, vowed to boycott the annual White House reception. Of the remaining honorees, Queens native and rapper LL Cool J hasn’t commented on whether he would attend, and singer Gloria Estefan pledged to use the event as an opportunity to influence Trump on immigration issues.

Lionel Richie said on Tuesday’s “Today” show that he is unsure he will attend Donald Trump’s reception for the Kennedy Center Honors.... ...Hoda Kotb asked Richie about his own plans during a live interview on “Today.” He responded, “I’m going to just play it by ear. I must tell you, I’m not really happy as to what’s going on right now with the controversies. They’re weekly, daily, hourly. But I think I’m just gonna wait it out for a minute, see where it’s going to be by that time.” “This is going to be in December,” Richie stressed. “We may...

WASHINGTON (AP) — This year's Kennedy Center honorees will include two singers, a television writer, a dancer - and for the first time, a hip-hop artist. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Thursday announced the recipients of the 2017 Kennedy Center Honors. They are: hip-hop artist LL Cool J, singers Gloria Estefan and Lionel Richie, television writer and producer Norman Lear and dancer Carmen de Lavallade. It's the 40th year of the awards, which honor people who have influenced American culture through the arts. The honorees will be celebrated at a gala on Dec. 3, featuring...

President Donald J. Trump to Join Pastor Robert Jeffress in Honoring Veterans at the Kennedy Center for the ‘Celebrate Freedom’ Concert This Saturday Trump is spending the weekend at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, but plans to travel back to Washington on Saturday night for the "Celebrate Freedom Rally" at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.... A news release says that Trump will: "deliver a powerful address honoring our veterans, hundreds of whom will be coming from D.C. area to attend the event, including wounded warriors who are patients at the Walter Reed Medical Center."

Obama's top flight lieutenants never went away when the most destructive president in American history 'left' the White House, they bunkered down on innocent sounding boards of trustees where they continue to undermine America to the present day. Before moving on to private life as a community activist now operating from a life of luxury, Barack Hussein Obama boobytrapped the future of President Donald Trump with carefully placed human IEDs waiting to be set off at the most opportune moment. In conventional—military tactics, Improvised Explosive Devices are commonly used as roadside bombs.