Trump’s weird obsession with the arts is part of the authoritarian playbook

[Hume]

His focus on the Kennedy Center fits a pattern. From Augustus to Stalin, strongmen have sought cultural control for their own ends

Think of authoritarianism as a sort of disease: you’ll find “preoccupation with the minutiae of the arts” is on the symptom checker, because authoritarians are prickly and afraid of the potency of the arts, how they affect hearts and minds.

Trump’s weird obsession with the arts is part of the authoritarian playbook | Charlotte Higgins

His focus on the Kennedy Center fits a pattern. From Augustus to Stalin, strongmen have sought cultural control for their own ends, says the Guardian’s chief culture writer Charlotte Higgins

www.theguardian.com

 

[Nordberg]

Trump wants to decide all you see and do.

 

[Hume]

Trump wants to decide all you see and do.

Just like Hitler. Yes, Hitler hated art that did not promote his idea of virility and manliness.

 

[Hume]

The Nazis loathed modern art. They launched a war against it.​

“Degenerate Art,” an exhibition in Paris on modern art’s greatest crisis, is about culture wars and where they can lead.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/art/2025/03/14/degenerate-art-musee-picasso-nazi-culture/

 

[Walt]

The weird part is his wife, as first lady, is the honorary chair of the Kennedy Center. trump could have just made the title complete, and put his wife in charge. he needed to control it personally for some reason.

I think he is actually going after Kennedy. Kennedy is a much respected past President, respected among people who do not respect trump. trump desperately wants that respect.