U.S. VP JD Vance Booed at the Kennedy Center

A video on social media shows members of the audience booing the Vice President, after Trump's takeover of the performing arts center

This week, Vice President JD Vance and second lady, Usha Vance, were attending a concert at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C., when the audience erupted into boos upon their arrival.

A social media video of the moment captured the scene, and can be watched below:

J.D. Vance just walked into the Kennedy Center and the crowd ERUPTED in boos.pic.twitter.com/H4Yr7SAHsI

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 14, 2025

It was the pair's first appearance at the venue since U.S. President Trump installed himself as the center's Chair, and made sweeping changes to the board. This week, Trump completed his board appointments, with Fox News host Laura Ingraham and Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo.

Richard Grenell, whom Mr. Trump named as the center’s new president, posted on social media today that the video above “should challenge us all to commit to making the Kennedy Center a place where everyone is welcomed.”

The Center has recently canceled a number of planned performances, including the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington and the children's musical Finn.

The concert that Vance attended featured the National Symphony Orchestra led by its music director, Gianandrea Noseda, who performed Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 2, with Leonidas Kavakos as the soloist, and Stravinsky’s “Petrushka.”

In the wake of changes at the Center, many artists have withdrawn from their Kennedy Center performances in protest. Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeffrey Seller recently opted to withdraw performances of their musical Hamilton, which were planned for 2025.

Various prominent figures in the music industry have also commented publicly on policy changes at the Kennedy Center, including conductors Marin Alsop and Leonard Slatkin.