Scoop: MAGA's favorite restaurant partners with Kennedy Center
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Trump looks down from the presidential box at the Kennedy Center n March 17. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Butterworth's, the MAGA-favorite watering hole on Capitol Hill, is partnering with the Kennedy Center and will offer discounts to some of its customers, according to plans first shared with Axios.
Why it matters: The deal is the latest sign of MAGA's growing entrenchment in the Washington cultural scene, and comes as the Kennedy Center faces backlash for President Trump's takeover of the iconic theater venue.
Details: Starting Wednesday, Butterworth's will offer 10% off checks for Kennedy Center ticket holders, staffers and performers.
- Butterworth's, which is frequented by Steve Bannon and other prominent MAGA personalities, joins several other restaurants in offering perks to those affiliated with the Kennedy Center.
- Ticketholders for next week's Les Miserables showings will qualify for the discount. Trump, first lady Melania Trump, Vice President Vance and second lady Usha Vance will be in attendance at opening night on Wednesday, according to Fox News.
The big picture: Trump moved swiftly to assert control over the Kennedy Center after inauguration, firing its president, naming himself chairman of the board, and appointing longtime ally Ric Grenell as interim executive director.
- Performances from groups like the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, D.C. were cancelled, and artists like Issa Rae and the Hamilton cast boycotted their scheduled appearances.
- Trump's takeover has also sparked protests outside of the theater.
The intrigue: Subscription sales for the next season of programming at the Kennedy Center are down about 36% compared to this time last year, according to internal data obtained by The Washington Post.
- The Kennedy Center denied any drop, saying the data stemmed from a consolidation of subscription packages.
- The Kennedy Center also boasted to Fox News that Les Miserables, one of Trump's favorite musicals, has topped $3 million in ticket sales at the box office.
Zoom in: The popularity of Butterworth's and Trump's reshaping of the Kennedy Center are two examples of MAGA making good on its promise to disrupt Washington's culture, not just its politics.
- Trump claimed last week that he fired the director of the National Portrait Gallery. In March, he signed an executive order calling for the removal of "improper ideology" from the district's Smithsonian museums.
Butterworth's, opened just before the 2024 election, has drawn headlines as the place to see and be seen among MAGA adherents, replacing the lobby of the former Trump International Hotel during the president's first term.
- An "America Is Hot Again" event hosted by the Conservateur earlier this year solidified it as a spot for young conservatives.
- Bannon, The National Pulse editor Raheem Kassam (who is also a co-investor), Grenell and other administration officials are regulars at the Capitol Hill restaurant.
What they're saying: "I'm a long-standing Kennedy Center admirer, and a big fan of what Ric Grenell and his team are doing to breathe new life into what is arguably D.C.'s most important cultural institution," Kassam told Axios.
- "I'm also aware that many people think Butterworth's is explicitly a 'MAGA' venue. Kennedy Center attendees of all political stripes (or none) should feel free to come and find out what we're all about for themselves. We welcome everyone who loves great food and impeccable vibes."
