Ever been to the Kennedy Center in New York City? Me neither. Yet our money helps fund it. The Center receives roughly $45 million per year in federal support, and now President Trump has proposed increasing that amount to approximately $247 million.

Readers of this column know I am a staunch conservative with strong support for President Trump. But my support is not without limits, and when it comes to the Kennedy Center, Trump’s ego, and the misuse of taxpayer dollars, my enthusiasm wanes considerably.

Last February, Trump set his sights on changing the leadership and direction of the Center, despite never having visited it, citing what he called its “woke” agenda, including programming that he claimed was out of step with traditional values, such as drag performances he suggested targeted youth. In response, the board of directors made him Chairman. Am I the only one who feels this may have been contrived?

Trump subsequently removed some board members, including former Biden administration officials Anthony Blinken and Karine Jean-Pierre, replacing them with loyalists and political allies. By December, he had his name on the front of the building and on official social media sites, a move that will almost certainly be reversed if a Democrat is ever elected president again.

During his first term, Trump also broke with precedent by not attending the annual Kennedy Center Honors, a tradition observed by every president since the institution’s inception. It’s worth remembering that the President of the United States appoints members to the Center’s 36-person board for six-year terms — a responsibility that, arguably, should reflect broad cultural representation rather than political patronage.

President Eisenhower approved construction of the Kennedy Center in 1958, and the facility finally opened to the public in 1971. Thirteen years of delays, redesigns, fundraising struggles and political interference aren’t a testament to artistic vision — they’re a reminder of what happens when Washington tries to run cultural projects. Government involvement tends to slow everything down while the taxpayers quietly keep paying the bill.

For over fifty years, taxpayers have been sending money to maintain this institution — often with little transparency or accountability as to programming choices. What, Kid Rock or Ted Nugent weren’t available to give performances?

Trump’s involvement has triggered an equally dramatic backlash. Performers, many of whom are unknown outside New York’s arts circles, have canceled scheduled concerts in protest. Democrat lawmakers, who historically voted to shovel our money to fund the Kennedy Center, and members of the Kennedy family have criticized the renaming of the building, imagine that. They call it the “politicization” of an institution intended to honor President Kennedy’s legacy. Politicization works both ways, folks.

What troubles me most isn’t the art itself — it’s the message sent by turning a federal memorial into a political brand. If a private foundation wanted to rename its own building after a living politician, that’s their prerogative. But when an institution built with federal money becomes a vanity project for a current president, it cheapens the mission and alienates taxpayers from both sides of the aisle.

Let’s also remember what this funding could support instead. $247 million a year is not pocket change. It’s money that could go to after-school arts programs for underprivileged children, music education in rural schools, rehabilitation programs for veterans, or community theaters in cities that actually serve the everyday taxpayer. Arts and culture do matter, but they should thrive through private support, philanthropy, and enthusiastic public engagement – not political leverage paid for with tax receipts.

Given Trump’s controversial takeover of the Center and the outrage it has stirred on the left, I’d prefer that not one more dime of my taxpayer money be funneled into a performing arts center I will likely never visit. More importantly, I want my president focused on issues that tangibly matter to Americans: securing our borders, strengthening the economy, and ensuring public safety. Cultural institutions shouldn’t be vehicles for political vanity projects funded by hard-earned taxpayer dollars.

In the end, I support the arts. I support free expression. But I support them best when they stand on their own merits, not as political trophies.