A Golden Age of Art: Trump's Les Misérables Appearance at Kennedy Center Signals Push to Restore Traditional Arts

President Donald Trump, who was elected Chairman of the Kennedy Center in February, attended the premiere of Les Misérables alongside First Lady Melania Trump, signaling a push to promote traditional arts in American culture. The move aligns with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s similar efforts to preserve cultural heritage, as both leaders advocate for art that reflects their nations’ historical and cultural identities.

Trump’s attendance underscores his administration’s directive to prioritize traditional art, performing arts, and architecture in government and cultural institutions. “At my direction, we are going to make the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., GREAT AGAIN,” Trump declared in a February Truth Social post. He criticized past programs, stating, “Just last year, the Kennedy Center featured Drag Shows specifically targeting our youth — THIS WILL STOP.” His vision is to showcase art that reflects American and Western values, rejecting what he calls “woke gender ideology” and propaganda.

Similarly, Orbán has emphasized preserving cultural traditions in Hungary. Speaking at the reopening of Budapest’s refurbished Museum of Fine Arts, he said, “For Christian, Hungarian, and European culture to survive, its adherents must now defend their cultural essence, identity, and sovereignty in the vortex of Europe’s cultural war.” He added, “We believe in enduring ideas, and we hope that there will be a shared order towards which we can all freely aspire. This hope is embodied by the Museum of Fine Arts.” Orbán warned that losing folk culture erodes a nation’s ability to discern good from bad, leaving it vulnerable to moral and cultural relativism.

The Kennedy Center, a cornerstone of American culture, is central to Trump’s mission. “The Kennedy Center is an American Jewel, and must reflect the brightest STARS on its stage from all across our Nation,” he said. His support for Les Misérables has sparked discussion about its resonance with his vision. “I love the songs, I love the play,” Trump remarked before the premiere. Some draw parallels between the musical’s protagonist, Jean Valjean, and Trump, both of whom faced persecution and were made outcasts.

Trump’s affinity for Les Misérables can be seen looking back to his 2016 campaign, when he used it for entrance music at a Miami rally, with a screen graphic reading “Les Deplorables” — a jab at Hillary Clinton’s “basket of deplorables” comment about his supporters.

The Trump Administration published the memorandum "Promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture" that demonstrated the President's commitment to preserving artistic cultural identity similarly to Orbán: “Federal public buildings should be visually identifiable as civic buildings and respect regional, traditional, and classical architectural heritage in order to uplift and beautify public spaces and ennoble the United States and our system of self-government.”

White House communications director Steven Cheung emphasized Trump’s commitment to the arts, stating, “There is nobody more uniquely qualified to bring this country, and its rich history of the arts, back to prominence.” Both Trump and Orbán frame their efforts as a stand against a globalist agenda they see as undermining traditional values.

The premiere marks a pivotal moment for the Kennedy Center as it navigates a new era under Trump’s leadership, with a clear focus on celebrating cultural heritage over woke ideological trends.