Donald Trump loyalist Richard Grenell has gone into meltdown after claims that the Kennedy Center has become a private club for the president’s friends and supporters under his watch, according to The New York Times.
Grenell, who was the ambassador to Germany during Trump’s first administration, was appointed as president of the iconic Kennedy Center in February, as the previous board members were purged for Trump loyalists.
A new report in The NYT has leveled allegations of cronyism and corruption at the performing arts center in Washington.
That includes the American Conservative Union Foundation receiving a half-price discount on renting a stage at the venue for their summit on “ending Christian persecution” last month.
The NYT viewed documents that showed the final rental cost was $20,007, down from what should have been nearly $42,000.
They claimed FIFA got an even bigger discount when they rented the entire Kennedy Center to host the 2026 World Cup draw. FIFA has been granted 24/7 access to the venue for nearly three weeks, starting from Monday, forcing it to cancel or reschedule lucrative holiday programming.
The cost of renting the entire venue should have been around $5 million, which included $2.7 million in “rescheduling expenses” and “potential lost revenue”, however FIFA were given the Kennedy Center for free, according to reporting by The Washington Post.
On Thursday, Democrat Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse launched an investigation into activities under Grenell’s reign at the Kennedy Center, claiming the “nation’s premier arts center is being used as a slush fund and private club for Trump’s friends and political allies.”
Whitehouse said that contracts, invoices, and agreements to use the facilities revealed that Grenell is operating the Kennedy Center “for the enrichment of your friends and acquaintances, to dole out political favors, and as a playground for the president of the United States and his allies.”
“The center is being looted to the tune of millions of dollars in foregone revenue, canceled programming, unpaid use of its facilities, and wasteful spending on luxury restaurants and hotels—an unprecedented pattern of self-dealing, favoritism, and waste,” he added.
Whitehouse said the center was becoming “a swamp for cronyism and self-dealing.” As ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, he called for documents and information about the center’s financial management practices, expenditures, donors, and contracts under Grenell’s leadership to be handed over by Dec. 4.
The venue receives some federal funding for building maintenance, with the rest generated from ticket sales and renting the space out for private events.
A triggered Grenell posted a lengthy letter to Whitehouse on his X account, fiercely denying the claims he and the NYT made.
Grenell also lashed out on social media, saying Whitehouse “attacked the Kennedy Center with outrageous claims.”
He added, “Oh boy – the facts are so clear: the NYT and the Senator’s letter writer are going to be embarrassed. We have a balanced budget, we’ve raised a whopping $117 MILLION under @realDonaldTrump – and FIFA has paid millions plus covered all expenses (the NYT made a gigantic mistake by assuming FIFA was a rental not a major Sponsor).”
He also attacked NYT reporter Katie Benner, calling her “an activist Lefty” who “wrote a hit piece full of lies about FIFA and the Kennedy Center.”
Claiming the publication has “Trump derangement syndrome,” he said, “I have now called this New York Times reporter twice asking for corrections and a conversation about her tactics. She refuses to call me back. Truly pathetic.”
In his letter, Grenell insists the venue remains apolitical, saying, “We continue to invite both Democrats and Republicans to see the changes we have made-we have yet to have a single Democrat take us up on our invitation.”
The Daily Beast has contacted Whitehouse and Grenell for comment.
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