President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Kennedy Center raged at the Washington Post on Friday after the outlet reported on its crumbling finances.
With donors pulling financial backing and artists cancelling upcoming appearances, the Kennedy Center is $40 million in debt and has an operating deficit of $100 million despite turning a profit of $6 million less than two years ago, Post reporter Travis Andrews revealed on Friday.
“Oh Travis. This isn’t remotely journalism,“ wrote Ric Grenell, the Kennedy Center’s interim executive director. ”You’ve never looked at *any* of the financial details. You aren’t a financial expert. You’ve never been involved in high level budgeting. You’ve never seen the balance sheet. I’ve never talked to you.”
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Grenell alleged Andrews only spoke to “left wing activists who helped create this financial crisis.”
Trump announced his takeover of the storied Kennedy Center in February, firing most of its board. New, Trump-installed board members then elected him chair.
Before being named as the Kennedy Center’s interim executive director, Grenell served as a special missions envoy in the first Trump administration. He also sought to be Trump’s pick for secretary of state but was ultimately skipped over for Marco Rubio.
In a separate post, Grenell also laid in on CNN’s Christiane Amanpour and Vince Warren, the director of the Center for Constitutional Rights.
“Warren and Amanpour constantly undermine the rule of law. They are insurrectionists. They support picking and choosing which laws you follow,” he said.
