It was supposed to be a moment of celebration: Vice President JD Vance was attending a concert at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington on Thursday evening for the first time since President Donald Trump’s stunning takeover of the institution.

Instead, as Vance took his seat in the box tier with the second lady, Usha Vance, loud boos broke out in the auditorium, lasting roughly 30 seconds, according to audience members and a video posted on social media. Vance was shown in the video waving to the audience as he settled into his seat.

The incident put on display the outcry over Trump’s decision last month to purge the Kennedy Center’s once-bipartisan board of its Biden appointees and have himself elected its chair. (The president, who broke with tradition during his first term by not attending the Kennedy Center Honors after some of the artists being celebrated criticized him, complained that the center had become too “wokey.”)

Vance Attended Performance at National Symphony Orchestra

Vance attended Thursday’s performance by the National Symphony Orchestra, one of the Kennedy Center’s flagship groups. The ensemble, under the baton of its music director, Gianandrea Noseda, performed Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 2, with Leonidas Kavakos as the soloist. After an intermission, the orchestra played Stravinsky’s “Petrushka.”

The Vances stayed for the entire concert, audience members said. Usha Vance was recently appointed by Trump to serve as a board member at the Kennedy Center, alongside other Trump allies like Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff; and Laura Ingraham, the Fox News host.

The concert started about 20 minutes late because of added security measures, audience members said.

A White House spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.

Richard Grenell, whom Trump named as the center’s new president, posted on social media on Friday morning that the video showing Vance being booed “should challenge us all to commit to making the Kennedy Center a place where everyone is welcomed.”

“It troubles me to see that so many in the audience appear to be white and intolerant of diverse political views,” he wrote. “Diversity is our strength. We must do better. We must welcome EVERYONE. We will not allow the Kennedy Center to be an intolerant place.”

Trump Ousted Kennedy Center’s Longtime Chair

In February, Trump ousted the Kennedy Center’s longtime chair, financier David M. Rubenstein, the center’s largest donor. His new board of loyalists elected Trump as chair and fired Deborah F. Rutter, the center’s president for more than a decade. At least three other top staff members were also dismissed.

Performers, including actress Issa Rae and musician Rhiannon Giddens, have dropped out in protest amid fears that Trump’s calls to rid the center of “woke” influences, drag shows and “anti-American propaganda” would result in a reshaping of programming. The producers of the musical “Hamilton” recently scrapped a planned staging there next year.

While Trump has not yet articulated his vision for the center, his appointees have provided some hints. Grenell recently said that the center planned “a big, huge celebration of the birth of Christ at Christmas.”

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Javier C. Hernández
c. 2025 The New York Times Company