President Trump and First Lady Receive Mixed Reaction at Les Misérables Performance

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump received a mix of boos and applause at the Kennedy Center on Wednesday, June 11, as they attended the opening performance of the musical Les Misérables. The president and first lady were met with mixed reactions while walking out, as can be seen in videos posted to X.

Vice President J.D. Vance and his wife, Usha Chilukuri Vance, were also in attendance at the performance. The Vances were previously booed by a crowd in the same venue in March when they tried sitting in the Kennedy Center balcony to watch the National Symphony Orchestra.

Wednesday's Les Mis performance was always expected to feature a slightly different cast than most Kennedy Center attendees will see during the show’s month-long run. On May 7, CNN reported that at least 10 of the 12 actors in the musical were not planning to perform on the night the Trumps attended. According to sources who spoke to the outlet, the cast was given the option to not perform, and several ensemble members and starring cast members opted out.

The protest came after the president, just a few days into his second presidential term, installed himself as chairman of the Kennedy Center and purged most of its so-called "woke" leadership, installing a new board of conservative supporters in their place. He also appointed Richard Grenell, a member of his administration, as the Center's president and interim director.

In a statement at the time the protest was announced, Grenell said, “The Kennedy Center will no longer fund intolerance. Any performer who isn’t professional enough to perform for patrons of all backgrounds, regardless of political affiliation, won’t be welcomed.”

President Trump has proven himself to be a Les Mis fan in the past. In February, the U.S. Army Chorus performed the musical's protest anthem, "Do You Hear the People Sing?," at the 2025 White House Governors Ball.

After Trump used the song in 2016, producer Sir Cameron Mackintosh and the co-creators of Les Mis released a joint statement to express their disapproval that he was using the musical to bolster his political agenda. "The authors of Les Misérables were not asked for permission and did not authorise or endorse usage of 'Do You Hear the People Sing?' at last [week’s] Trump rally in Miami, and have never done so for any of the songs from the musical for this or any other political event,” they wrote, per The Guardian.