The Trump-aligned leadership now running the Kennedy Center, led by board chair Donald Trump and interim executive director Richard Grenell, is remaking one of Washington’s most recognizable cultural symbols. This year’s Honors medallion abandons the institution’s signature rainbow ribbon, a fixture of the award since 1978 and long understood as representing the full spectrum of the arts.

In its place is a navy-blue ribbon described by Trump’s Kennedy Center as evoking “dignity and tradition,” while the rainbow colors have been reduced to thin stripes flanking the redesigned gold medallion crafted by Tiffany & Co.

The change arrives as several of this month’s Kennedy Center Honorees draw political scrutiny, including Gloria Gaynor, who was recently revealed to have donated to Donald Trum

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