WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump drew applause Tuesday night as he attended the opening of the musical “Chicago” at the Trump-Kennedy Center for what could be one of his last visits there for a show before he closes the performing arts institution for a two-year renovation in July.
Trump made the short trip from the White House just after signing an executive order to create a nationwide list of verified eligible voters and to restrict mail-in voting, a move that drew swift legal threats from state Democratic officials.
The president watched the performance alongside his wife, First Lady Melania Trump.
It was the Trumps' first time together at the Kennedy Center since the premiere of the documentary “Melania” in January. The Republican president also attended the opening-night performance of “Les Misérables” last summer.
Some of those arriving for the show before Trump didn't know he was planning to be there, despite the extra layers of security. Others said they got a voicemail or email about a special guest being in attendance, but were still surprised to learn it was Trump.
Bobi Jo Swartz, 38, an EMT and paramedic firefighter from the Harpers Ferry area in West Virginia, said she was “definitely shocked” to pull up and see security that included bomb-sniffing dogs checking vehicles. But she also said she “kind of figured” it was either Trump or Vice President JD Vance seeing the show.
“I love it," Swartz said. "I'm glad that he's a part of it.”
“Chicago,” a scathing satire set in the 1920s about how show business and the media make celebrities out of criminals, will run at the Kennedy Center Opera House through April 5. The center will award the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor to comedian Bill Maher on June 28, an event Trump could also attend.