Emails expose power play behind Trump's latest Kennedy Center shake-up

President Donald Trump gestures as he attends a show at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, in Washington, D.C., March 31, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci

Amid the controversy surrounding the temporary closure of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for a renovation project following legal battles over renaming the venue after President Donald Trump, The Washington Post has uncovered email correspondence revealing how the newly tapped artistic director for the center is a Trump-era insider. Rick Canny, the new artistic director, has been working as a consultant with the center since the president’s takeover.

Canny has a long resume in artist management and entertainment. Before being promoted to his new role. His journey to his current tenure was detailed in an email from a Kennedy Center spokesman. His new agreement lists him as the artistic director “in a designated executive consulting capacity” rather than an official employee.

Canny’s biggest project he’s taken leadership on is transitioning the ticketing system to an online method, as well as plans to relocate the Kennedy Center Honors to be held at the Capital One Arena. In a March 30 email to Donna Arduin, then the center’s chief financial officer, Canny described various assignments he’s been working on for the Kennedy Center, which include a proposed agreement with Ticketmaster. The Kennedy Center is currently in the process of switching from its service with Tessitura, a ticketing system common within the performing-arts organization world, to Ticketmaster, which Canny believes will streamline operations.

In the email, he writes that “many or most of the terms of the deal.” He also noted he wants to focus on larger-scale events and opportunities for the center that will bring in more revenue in his eyes, and forgo what he considers low-hanging fruit, such as podcasts and book signings.

“We need to stop ‘short order cooking’ and get to the renovations,” he wrote, referencing the shuttered building and major renovation overhaul. “We don’t need passion projects. This is business.”

But he doesn’t stop there. Canny also makes it known that he wants more authority within his role, telling Arduin that he could relieve Matt Floca, the executive director, of a big load. “I can take so much off his shoulders and his plate,” Canny wrote. “But he needs to empower me.” Floca would eventually grant Canny more responsibilities, including overseeing programming and restructuring internal communications.

A Kennedy Center official of more than a decade, who asked to remain anonymous, told The Washington Post that the ticket system transition is slated to begin on October 19. The insider also alleges that Canny has been critical of box office operations and prefers digital options, such as kiosks. “He had always said that … they’re useless, they’re not good at it. We don’t need people. We can put out kiosks. It should all be done online,” the official said.

Recently, two dozen box office staff members were laid off, seemingly as a result of Canny’s plan to do away with box office operations.

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