Trump, first lady to skip 2017 Kennedy Center Honors
President Donald J. Trump and Melania Trump said they wouldn't participate in this year's Kennedy Center Honors to avoid "political distraction." It will be the fourth time in 40 years of the event that the sitting president won't be attending. WASHINGTON — The White House announced early Saturday that President Trump and the first lady, Melania Trump, would not participate in this year’s Kennedy Center Honors, “to allow the honorees to celebrate without any political distraction.” The decision was another episode in an already fraught week for the White House. Mr. Trump has become increasingly isolated after a series of comments about the white supremacist marches in Charlottesville, Va. Concerned about being aligned with Mr. Trump, business leaders on the Strategic and Policy Forum agreed to disband this past week. And on Friday, all 16 members of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities resigned in ...