Bridgewater, N.J. — In a break with tradition, President Donald Trump and the first lady have decided not to participate in events honoring recipients of this year’s Kennedy Center Honors arts awards to “allow the honorees to celebrate without any political distraction,” the White House announced Saturday.
Past presidents and first ladies have hosted a White House reception in the hours before the Kennedy Center gala, which they would then watch from seats high above the stage.
The decision came a day after the entire membership of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities resigned to protest Trump’s comments about last weekend’s demonstrations by white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia.