Beatty Reveals Heated Discussion with Trump Over Kennedy Center Funding Ben Beatty, a prominent arts administrator, has shed light on a heated discussion he had with former President Donald Trump regarding National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) funding to the John F.
Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 2017. The conversation took place shortly after Trump's inauguration, when there were reports that his administration was considering significant cuts to the NEA budget.
Beatty, who served as chairman of the Kennedy Center's board of trustees at the time, claims he and Trump engaged in a tense discussion about the importance of arts funding.