Vice President J.D. Vance booed by Kennedy Center crowd in wake of Trump takeover

Vice President J.D. Vance and second lady Usha Vance were booed Thursday while sitting down in their box seats during a concert at the Kennedy Center in Washington.

Video posted on social media by The Guardian correspondent Andrew Roth showed the second couple taking their seats followed by about 30 seconds of booing from the crowd. One person in the crowd yelled out that the Trump administration had “ruined this place!”

Mr. Vance responded to the jeers by smiling and waving. The remark refers to President Donald Trump’s takeover of the institution, in which the center’s director and several members of the board, which is funded both by government money and private donations, were ousted and Mr. Trump himself was named chairman.

The Vances were attending a concert by the resident National Symphony Orchestra, with a soloist playing “Violin Concerto No. 2” by Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich and the orchestra playing the ballet “Petrushka” by Russian composer Igor Stravinsky, according to Classic FM.

Prior to the booing, the concert had been delayed by about 25 minutes so that the Secret Service could conduct a thorough security check for Mr. and Mrs. Vance, according to The Guardian.

Ric Grenell, a longtime adviser who was appointed the Kennedy Center’s president by Mr. Trump, said on X that “it troubles me to see that so many in the audience appear to be white and intolerant of diverse political views. Diversity is our strength. We must do better. We must welcome EVERYONE.”

Ms. Vance has also been appointed as a member of the Kennedy Center board of trustees.

Mr. Trump’s changes to the Kennedy Center have seen some artists and shows, such as the Broadway musical “Hamilton,” cancel their upcoming appearances.

Other acts have been canceled by the Kennedy Center itself, including a concert by the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington DC set to coincide with a May celebration of LGBTQ+ Pride, according to the British newspaper.