US President Donald Trump has appointed Usha Vance, wife of US Vice President JD Vance, as a trustee to the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts after claiming the centre was "woke". Recently, Trump dismissed several members of the Centre and expressed his intention to take control of it. He said the fired members did not "share our Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture.”

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The US president slammed past performances at the centre and called out drag performances saying they "will stop". 

This after Trump, while speaking to a reporter aboard Air Force One on February 11, said the Kennedy Center is "woke". But when the reporter asked if he had ever been there or watched any shows, he said he hadn't but had "got reports". After the video of his statements circulated on social media, he was criticised for his claim. 

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'Smarter than Vance'

Usha Vance, the Second Lady of the US of Indian origin, has studied at the University of Cambridge on a scholarship funded by Microsoft founder Bill Gates. 

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She was previously praised by Trump who even called her "smarter than Vance". The president has stated that Usha is "brilliant" and much more accomplished than Vance. 

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“I would have chosen her, but somehow, the line of succession didn’t work that way, right?” Trump said. 

Trump's vision for Kennedy Center

Trump has expressed his desire to have a Kennedy Center that holds performances to appeal to “a broader, more inclusive and more balanced audience, instead of those that only appeal to half the country," CBS News reported. 

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“Mr. Trump doesn’t want productions to lean into ‘woke culture,’ as he believes they have in the past," a source told CBS News. 

(With inputs from agencies)