On March 13, the crowd at the Kennedy Center didn’t hold back their disapproval when Vice President JD Vance made an appearance, greeting him with loud boos. Despite the chilly reception, Vance responded with an awkward wave to the audience.
Before the National Symphony Orchestra could strike its first note, Vance and his wife, Usha, arrived at the venue and were met with a resounding chorus of boos that echoed throughout the hall. The frosty welcome came in the wake of Donald Trump’s controversial takeover of the Kennedy Center earlier in the year.
Back in February, Trump had dismissed the Kennedy Center’s chairman and 13 trustees, installing himself as chairman and appointing Richard Grenell, a close ally and former foreign policy advisor, as acting director. The decision sparked outrage within the arts community, raising alarms about political influence over one of America’s most prominent cultural institutions.
“So we took over the Kennedy Center,” said Trump, who since the takeover cancelled 20 shows at the venue. “We didn’t like what they were showing and various other things. We’re going to make sure that it’s good and it’s not going to be woke. There’s no more woke in this country.”
On February 20, Trump expanded on his stance in a post on Truth Social, declaring there would be “NO MORE DRAG SHOWS, OR OTHER ANTI-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA – ONLY THE BEST.”
Symphony delayed
On the night of Vance’s appearance, concertgoers had gathered to hear the National Symphony Orchestra perform Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 2 and Stravinsky’s Petrushka.
However, the performance was delayed by 25 minutes due to heightened security as Vance’s motorcade arrived, requiring full Secret Service screenings for all attendees—a rare disruption for the typically smooth-running venue.
Before the performance began, Vance and Usha were escorted to an otherwise empty balcony on the second floor, accompanied by a few security agents.
As always, Vance couldn’t go unnoticed.
‘Ruined this place’
Andrew Roth, global affairs correspondent for The Guardian, was the first to spot the vice president in the box.
“JD Vance,” Roth can be heard saying at the start of a video clip that has since garnered over 1.3 million views on X in under 24 hours.
Rather than the usual polite acknowledgment from the symphony crowd, Vance was met with a wave of boos and jeers. One man shouted “Boo!” while a woman nearby was heard exclaiming, “Oh f***.”
According to The Guardian, one attendee yelled, “You ruined this place!”—although that wasn’t clearly audible in video clips from the event, despite the Kennedy Center’s excellent acoustics.
As more audience members became aware of Vance’s presence, the boos swelled, growing louder and more unified.
Vance, however, appeared unbothered. He sipped his wine, chatted with his wife, and even gave a casual wave to the disapproving crowd below.
‘Bravo, America’
Meanwhile, the online community wasted no time reacting to the viral clip.
“What horrible behavior! Vice President Vance deserves respect, he has earned it,” shares one user who condemned the boos. A second shares, “These people have the brains of children…make insane asylums great again.”
“Booed by boomers. Can’t recall ever seeing such widespread disdain, let alone just [seven] weeks in,” writes one neutral netizen.
Boos for JD Vance as he enters tonight’s concert at the Kennedy Center pic.twitter.com/IWTsJUWjCR
— Andrew Roth (@Andrew__Roth) March 13, 2025
Others viewed the reaction as justified, suggesting that Vance should expect this kind of reception wherever he goes.
“[JD Vance] getting the respect that’s owed to him. Bravo, America!” shared one user.
“It’s genuinely disgusting that the Vice President of the U.S. is giddy over being booed. There was a time when politicians actually cared about public outrage…Now? It’s a game,” offers a second.
“Trump will now declare the Kennedy Center audience are domestic terrorists,” Another tweets.
Grenell addressed the backlash and condemned the audience’s reaction as “intolerant.”
“It troubles me to see that so many in the audience appear to be white and intolerant of diverse political views. Diversity is our strength. We must do better. We must welcome EVERYONE. We will not allow the Kennedy Center to be an intolerant place,” the center’s new president tweeted March 14.
For Vance, the night served as a stark reminder of the scrutiny that comes with holding one of the nation’s highest offices. And for the Kennedy Center, it marked yet another flashpoint in the ongoing debate over politics and the arts.
What are your thoughts on Vice President Vance’s icy reception at the Kennedy Center? Share your opinions—and pass this story along to hear what others think!
