Art for the People, Grift for the Powerful

While Trump fundraises on Les Misérables, he’s dismantling the NEA.

Just days ago, the Trump administration began issuing termination letters to dozens of arts organizations across the country, canceling grants already awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). These weren’t future proposals. These were lifelines for projects already in motion, now abruptly cut off midstream.

And suppose Trump's 2026 budget proposal succeeds. In that case, it won't stop there: the NEA and its sister agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), will be eliminated entirely. This would dismantle an agency that has made over 128,000 grants totaling more than $5 billion since its founding in 1965, building cultural infrastructure in every corner of our nation.

This is the next target in the administration's campaign to gut federal institutions, especially those that elevate diverse voices, foster independent thought, or build cultural connections. I spoke about this recently in The Guardian, where I shared concerns about the targeting and dismantling of our arts and humanities agencies, including the Kennedy Center. It's not just about dollars. It's ideological.

That said, let's talk dollars. Trump is now hosting a $2 million-per-ticket fundraiser at the Kennedy Center, during a performance of Les Misérables. Has he ever even seen the show? Does he know what the musical is actually about? Because the irony isn't lost on me. It reeks of a grift. Will any of the Kennedy Center’s musicians, programs, or staff ever see a dime of it? We've seen this “performance” before so to speak. (Jim Acosta and I discussed this Kennedy Center debacle on his Substack show.)

Now, as the administration lays the groundwork to erase the NEA, familiar arguments are resurfacing, framing the agency as wasteful, unnecessary, or elitist. These are the same talking points used in past attempts to defund it. When you hear people use these, I’ve taken the time to dissect them for you, to better arm you in educating others in your local communities. Let’s break them down and see what they really mean.

Private philanthropy can fund the arts; we don't need the government.

But here’s the truth: NEA funding doesn’t displace private giving, it multiplies it.

On average, every $1 in NEA grants generates about $9 in matching support, including local governments, private donors, and foundations. NEA backing acts as a national stamp of credibility, especially for smaller, rural, or experimental programs. It signals to others that this is worth investing in.

If the NEA is removed, many of these projects will lose not just seed funding but also the confidence of other supporters. When the scaffolding is removed, entire ecosystems collapse.

The free market will take care of the arts.

That’s not how it works. The market rewards profitability, not purpose.

The NEA & NEH aren’t funding box office blockbusters. They’re funding:

• Ballet performances for children with autism and their families in Utah,

• The Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, which highlights stories of resilience, civil rights, and community through art and education,

• Women & Their Work in Texas, dedicated to promoting contemporary art by women,

• Studio Two Three, a community art space and print studio, in Richmond, Virginia

• And, the Military Healing Arts Network.

This is a very tiny snapshot of examples of programs they fund. These programs don't exist to turn a profit. They exist to serve people, foster healing, build identity, and preserve history. In some cases, the NEA is the only thing keeping them alive.

And now, even veterans' art initiatives are being disrupted, despite claims that military communities would be a funding priority. The administration's elimination of the NEA's Challenge America program, historically supporting underserved groups, including veterans, has left organizations scrambling to survive.

The NEA is just for elites and coastal institutions.

Not even close. The NEA is not a playground for elites or coastal institutions. Over 40% of its funding goes to underserved and rural communities, often in states with little access to the arts. Recent programs like ArtsHERE have awarded $12.3 million to expand arts access in historically underserved communities. These aren’t elite programs. They’re lifelines.

They include:

• A children’s theater in Lexington, Kentucky, that serves rural communities in its surrounding area.

• An oral history and arts project in a town devastated by wildfires in Tennessee.

And how about this joint statement from six U.S. Regional Arts Organizations urging Congress to restore federal funding for the NEA? They emphasized that the abrupt termination of active and pending NEA grants and the proposed elimination of the agency in the FY2026 federal budget would devastate communities nationwide. The statement highlighted that the NEA is critical in broadening access to the cultural, educational, and economic benefits of the arts in every Congressional District, supporting thousands of communities, including 678 counties that private foundations do not reach.

The NEA is one of the most equitable and efficient agencies we have. It spreads cultural investment across the country, amplifies community voices, and builds up the places too often left behind.

So if it’s not about the money, what is this really about?

Control.

The NEA costs little, just $200 million a year, or less than 0.004% of the federal budget. But it has something far more powerful: the ability to nurture stories that challenge authority, expose injustice, and imagine better futures.

And that makes it a threat to those who believe conformity is strength and creativity is chaos.

Defunding the arts is an old authoritarian trick. You don’t have to jail the poet if you can just cut off the grant that helps them speak. You don’t need to ban the mural if you can make sure it never gets painted. You simply starve the ecosystem until expression withers. And then you call it “efficiency.”

Trump officials are pushing NEA staff to resign, or risk being reassigned. All 10 of the NEA’s arts discipline directors, from literature and museums to design and folk arts, have resigned. Grant reviews are being manipulated to favor “values-aligned” applicants: religious institutions, traditionalist projects, and politically convenient art. It’s not a reform. It’s a purge.

So, what do we lose if the NEA is eliminated? (Which, by the looks of it, that's a plan well underway…)

We lose connection.
We lose local storytelling.
We lose cultural memory.
We lose access.

We lose economic vitality.

The arts and cultural industries contributed $1.2 trillion to our economy and grew at twice the rate of other sectors before these cuts. (Screenshot or print this from the NEA's website before it disappears once the Trump team reads that I've pointed this out!) The NEA's support is a catalyst for this growth, particularly in rural and underserved areas.

It's the kids in small towns who don't get music class, the refugee artists rebuilding after war, the aging veterans who find solace in sculpture, and the girl who writes her first poem and finally feels like her voice matters.

And frankly? It's all of us. Because when the stories stop flowing, so does empathy. So does perspective. So does democracy.

I know this from experience. Yes, I'm a national security professional. Still, I've seen firsthand what happens to the arts in failing democracies, when authoritarian leaders crave total control. I've also seen how art helps communities rebuild. In 2003, while deployed to Baghdad, Iraq, I sat in on Baghdad Symphony rehearsals. Sometimes, I played. Other times, I simply listened. I also taught a dance class locally in town when I could get away from my work. In a war-torn city, that music and those dances were defiance. It was resilience. It was hope. I've never forgotten it. That's the power of art. And that's why this moment matters.

This is more than art, it's about what kind of country we want to be.

When you silence the arts, you silence dissent and our collective ability to imagine a different world. You erase the spaces where we ask big questions, discover our identities, and build bridges across differences. This isn't just about a federal agency's budget. It's about protecting one of democracy's vital organs: our freedom to create, question, and belong.

Let's not lose that.

Your former theater major, saxophone player, musical theater actress, dancer, niece of mariachi musicians, and secret squirrel,

Olivia

P.S. Share your story. If the arts shaped your life or your community, speak up. I want to hear about it. Drop a comment. Send me a reply. Let’s remind each other, and this administration, of what's at stake. Post it. Tag your elected officials. Use your voice to protect the voices still trying to be heard. Also, please support local arts organizations—especially those that just lost NEA or NEH funding. Your donation, your ticket, your time, it will matter now more than ever.