According to the Washington Blade, out Journalist Eugene Ramirez was attending the opening night of Chicago in Washington, D.C. at the Kennedy Center with friends when Trump and first lady Melania Trump appeared in a balcony box. Ramirez says he responded with boos and a thumbs-down gesture. The Associated Press reports the audience reaction was mixed, with some boos drowned out by louder cheers.
Moments later, Ramirez says security escorted him from his seat. Ramirez recalled a security official telling him, “They don’t want booing.” He says he was held in a separate area until the house lights dimmed, then allowed to return. He was not arrested or charged. Ramirez, a former national television journalist, said he spoke out due to professional instinct – “Journalism is a vocation, not just a job…The Kennedy Center is a federally funded cultural institution, and being questioned about speech related to the president in that setting felt like something the public should know about…It was very clearly about protection — whether protecting the president from visible dissent, or his image before the media present.”
Neither the Kennedy Center nor the White House responded to the media requests for comment. The incident comes amid broader changes at the Kennedy Center under Trump, including canceled performances, artist withdrawals, and declining ticket sales.
