Culture IS the Answer: Why the Trump administration’s intimidation strategy is not working

Artists, athletes and citizens are speaking up, countering the Trump administration’s message of hate and exclusion with creativity, positivity and determination. And it works.

Almost a year ago to the date, we learned from Vice-President J. D. Vance’s speech at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) that Europe is losing its cultural heritage. On February 14, 2025 he warned his stunned audience of security experts, politicians and journalists of the dangers of mass migration undermining Europe’s democracies and culture. In the same speech he lamented that free speech was being curtailed in Europe by excluding dissenting, conservative voices. What he meant was those voices on the far-right.

Vance emphasized that European leaders must make a greater effort to fill the so-called democratic “shared values” with life to justify why the U.S. should engage in joint security efforts. “We must do more than talk about democratic values. We must live them,” Vance proclaimed (p. 16). “You cannot win a democratic mandate by censoring your opponents or putting them in jail—whether that’s the leader of the opposition, a humble Christian praying in her own home, or a journalist trying to report the news. Nor can you win one by disregarding your basic electorate on questions like who gets to be a part of our shared society,” he added (21).

A year later, Vance’s words, originally aimed at critics of the extreme right and supporters of a diverse society in Europe and the U.S., reveal a deep irony. His warning has proven to be true “that dismissing people, dismissing their concerns, or, worse yet, shutting down media, shutting down elections, or shutting people out of the political process protects nothing. In fact, it is the most surefire way to destroy democracy” (23). But it is Vance, his colleagues in the Trump administration and the President himself that are targeting dissenting voices.

Thanks to “citizen journalists” who carry smartphones instead of guns, the world has seen too many examples of how the current U.S. administration is handling protesters who are exercising their right of free speech, vilifying hardworking immigrants and tearing families apart under the pretext of “re-migration.” Not even children are safe.

Numerous lawsuits against journalists and news outlets that the President himself has threatened or settled are an attempt to shut down a free and independent press. Journalists, especially female ones, are chastised by the President for asking questions, labeled “stupid” or shut down by threatening them with a raised index finger, a stare and a “Quiet, piggy!” While they are communicating with him on a factual level, the President responds on a demeaning, personal one. Meanwhile, the legendary Washington Post is being crippled by its billionaire owner and Trump supporter Jeff Bezos.

Cultural institutions like the famous John F. Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. are taken over by the Trump faithful, and late-night T.V. comedians are taken off the air or attacked for making fun of the political theater.

But the Trump administration’s intimidation strategy is not working.

(Un)silencing Kimmel and closing the Kennedy Center

Jimmy Kimmel Live! was back on air a week after its suspension. Public pressure by viewers of the show, the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) as well as massive cancellations of streaming services and vacations forced Disney’s hand. The far right’s attack on free speech backfired.

Trump’s take-over as chairman, purging professional staff and renaming the national cultural center of the U.S. to “Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts” has also backfired “bigly.” The list of world renowned, long-time supporters of the Kennedy Center who cancelled their engagements is long (NPR Jan. 27, 2026). Plummeting subscriptions and ticket sales are forcing the Trump administration to act. To save face, chairman Trump, the president of the Kennedy Center, Richard Grenell, and hand-picked loyalists on the board have decided to close the Center for renovation instead of running a “sanitized” program alongside renovation measures, as originally planned.

Among the first to cancel their concerts at the Kennedy Center was the U.S. Marine Band, also called the “President’s Own” and their cooperation with Equity Arc, a non-profit organization advancing equity in classical music. Founded in 1798 by an Act of Congress, the U.S. Marine Band is the oldest professional music organization in the country. Kevin Charoensri, a Thai American from San Diego studying music composition at the University of Texas at Austin, revealed the reasons for the cancellation of the event that included one of his compositions: the anti-DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) crusade of the Trump administration.

“[D]ue to the executive orders impacting DEI-related programing for several agencies, the Marine Band was instructed to cancel the collaboration and therefore cancel the entire concert,” Kevin told the Washington Post (Febr. 26, 2025). The collaboration between the Marine Band and BIPoC high school students (Black, Indigenous and People of Color), was not just intended to support young musicians. It also meant to interest them in service to their country with the long-term goal to diversify the military. This, sadly, is no longer in the interest of the U.S. government.

The good news: A group of Veterans defied the administration’s orders and answered Equity Arc’s call to step in. Retirees from the bands of the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard, West Point, and the Naval Academy got together to mentor the students of Equity Arc.

Bad Bunny’s celebration of diversity

Diversity to the Trump administration as represented by non-white, non-straight immigrants as well as foreign-born residents is clearly perceived as a threat. Cultural programs that reflect the diversity of the U.S. landscape and population are even considered to be “un-American”, as Trump’s reaction to the Super Bowl half-time show featuring Puerto-Rican artist Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, also known as Bad Bunny, reveals:

“The Super Bowl Halftime Show is absolutely terrible, one of the worst, EVER! It makes no sense, is an affront to the Greatness of America, and doesn’t represent our standards of Success, Creativity, or Excellence. Nobody [my emphasis] understands a word this guy is saying, and the dancing is disgusting, especially for young children that are watching from throughout the U.S.A., and all over the World. This ‘Show’ is just a ‘slap in the face’ to our Country… “

In his ignorance and racist arrogance, Trump is excluding approximately 45 million people who speak Spanish at home, one in seven from age five upwards and by far the largest group of non-English speakers in the U.S. Most of them live in Texas and Florida, both red states, and California. Not included in that national total is the number of Spanish speakers in Puerto Rico, adding another three million people, or about 95% of the island territory’s population who happen to be citizens of the United States.

One of them is Bad Bunny, the first artist to perform only in Spanish as lead singer in the half-time Super Bowl show and target of Trump’s rant. Bad Bunny, who in 2025 left the U.S. out of his world tour out of concern for the safety of his fans as potential targets of immigration raids, had previously angered the President with his acceptance speech at the Grammy Awards in January 2026. The first artist to win the prestigious award for best album written entirely in Spanish, he dedicated the award “to all the people that had to leave their homeland, their country, to follow their dreams.” “Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say ICE out,” he concluded his speech in English.

The National Football League’s (NFL) primary reason for inviting super star Bad Bunny to participate in the half-time show was, no-doubt, business-related to increase their global reach among Spanish speakers. But by sticking to their choice, NFL leadership opted to ignore the Trump administration’s criticism and even the threat to send ICE-agents to the game to target non-white audiences. “I think people should not be coming to the Super Bowl unless they’re law-abiding Americans who love this country,” Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem had announced prior to the game.

Neither ICE nor Trump showed up at the Super Bowl. Instead, Bad Bunny broke all the records with an estimated 135.4 million viewers versus roughly six million that watched an alternative show put up by the conservative, right-wing Turning Point USA (TPUSA) organization. Not every viewer might have understood Bad Bunny’s references to the burdensome legacy of Colonialism his island nation is still carrying. They might not even share his view of Latin culture without boundaries expressed in a “God Bless America” in English and followed by a listing of almost all countries in the Americas. But the “nobodies” who don’t speak Spanish and watched nevertheless, as well as the millions who understood the lyrics celebrated Bad Bunny’s most fundamental message: “The only thing more powerful than hate is love”, and “Together, We Are America.”

As someone who was raised on soccer and music of decades past, the full impact of Bad Bunny’s show might escape me and some of my readers (check the Rolling Stone article for an excellent tutorial). “It was huge,” an American friend of mine with Cuban heritage, told me. “The Bad Bunny half-time show was phenomenal in so many ways! I liked what one commentator said – micro joys help get me through the macro sadnesses. The half time show may have only lasted 13 minutes, but it was a huge injection of joy and hope for a large portion of our country. It truly united people of all ages, of all backgrounds, of different ethnicities. It spoke to our pride of being a land of opportunity, of hard working immigrants, of different cultures. They have tried to beat that out of our framework, but it all came back to us in those 13 minutes. We danced, we laughed, we cried. The music and the messages made a huge mark, and reminded us that only love can beat out hate.”

Protesters, artists and athletes joining forces

There is a connection between Bad Bunny’s half-time show, his message of criticism carried by love and unity and protesters in the streets. Minnesotans are not just protesting against the presence of ICE, expanded federal immigration efforts and enforcement brutality. They are out in the streets in sub-zero weather to make a statement: “We are protecting our neighbors, no matter where they are from and what color their skin is. An infringement on their rights is an infringement on all of our rights.” They are protesting with whistles, drums and their voices, musical instruments everybody knows how to play. They, too, are heard around the globe.

And then there are American athletes at the Winter Olympics in Italy who don’t hide their sorrow about what is going on in the country they are representing. These young athletes have been fed the American diet of “We live in the greatest country on earth” their entire life, as many generations before them. At the Olympics they are literally meeting the world only to find out that their competitors, sports fans, journalists and people in the streets are aghast at the dismantling of democratic norms in the United States of America. They acknowledge the democratic values shared by the Olympic community that somebody like J.D. Vance is not able to comprehend. And express their shame.

Snowboarder Chloe Kim, child of Asian immigrants, carefully phrased her discomfort with immigration policy by saying: “In moments like these it’s really important for us to unite. We are allowed to voice our opinions on what’s going on. I think we need to lead with love and compassion.” At a press conference, skier Hunter Hess´ honest answer “I think it brings up mixed emotions to represent the U.S. right now,” earned him the epitaph of “loser” by his own President. “There’s obviously a lot going on that I’m not the biggest fan of and I think a lot of people aren’t. Just because I’m wearing the flag doesn’t mean I represent everything that’s going on in the U.S.”

Attempts to co-opt American culture are futile

Artists and athletes are using their platform to express concern in varying degrees, some rather direct, others carefully worded. Cultural engagement and artistic expression work as an act of defiance. They have an impact. Enforcing conformity on the arts (Gleichschaltung) has never worked. They become stale and meaningless, a carrier for propaganda, hollow on the inside.

A country, too, will lose its innovative spirit, creativity and drive when politicians are trying to control it. Athletes who have reason to represent their country proudly carry their success around the world. But first and foremost, their effort and success is their personal triumph. Cultural and political control and the Trump administration’s attempts to co-opt American culture on all levels are unsustainable.

There are, and will be, casualties of the Trump administration: thousands of innocent immigrants and residents, mostly non-white people. Immigration policy and enforcement brutality are not popular with two thirds of Americans. They disapprove of Trump’s signature immigration and deportation policy. Instead of eradicating crime, Trump is inciting and facilitating the crimes of ICE against his own people. Unfortunately, it has taken the deaths of two white American citizens in the streets of Minneapolis, Renée Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, to make white Americans understand what black and brown people have endured far too long. Nobody is safe in an autocratic state. The state has turned against its citizens. Trump has broken his oath of office.

Being an optimist by nature, let me give you some good news in all this mess. Americans are preparing for the “day after”, and it will come:

The Kennedy Center will bounce back once the Trump name is taken down in January 2029.
The large Pride rainbow flag will be up again at the Stonewall National Monument in Manhattan that commemorates the birth of the L.G.B.T.Q. rights movement and in all the other public places that were forced to take them down.
The white-washing and rewriting of American history by the Trump administration will be reversed through fact-based, critical and unbiased scholarship. National parks will restore plaques acknowledging the dark side of American history like slavery and the genocide of indigenous people. The Smithsonian will update its permanent exhibit of The American Presidency not only by restoring text on Trump’s two impeachments, but, together with museums around the country, with exhibits on how democracy was under attack but survived.
The press and traditional journalism are under enormous pressure. But engaged, independent journalists are finding ways to reach their audience via Substack, YouTube and other outlets. They keep doing their job of informing and educating the public. The Washington Post will survive, hopefully by being sold to a non-profit organization that keeps its fingers out of reporting.
The rule- and law-based order will be restored, but it will need major reform.

You cannot put a lid on diversity that is so much part of open societies. And history has proven that open societies fare better than totalitarian states. The popularity of Latin, Black and Asian culture will keep growing with artists like Bad Bunny and many others. They are reaching millions via a message of love and support for immigrants, people of color and protesters in the streets.

Right now, journalists, athletes, artists and protesters are keeping the door open to a more just, diverse society, in the U.S., in Europe and elsewhere.

We need to support them.

P.S.
Vice-President Vance will not attend this year’s Munich Security Conference. While attendants will remember his speech, nobody will miss him. He and his wife were widely booed by the international audience at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will be in Munich. Unlike his boss and as a child of Cuban immigrants, he understands Spanish. Let’s hope he watched Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl half-time show and got the message. . . .

P.P.S.
Reported last night in the Washington Post and elsewhere: “The Trump administration has withdrawn all federalized National Guard troops from U.S. cities, after its repeated attempts to surge forces into Democratic-run states encountered judicial roadblocks.” Defiance works.

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Sources

https://securityconference.org/assets/user_upload/MSC_Speeches_2025_Vol2_Ansicht.pdf

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/18/trump-calls-reporter-piggy-bloomberg

https://www.npr.org/2026/01/20/nx-s1-5675192/kennedy-center-canceled-performances

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/2025/02/26/presidents-own-marine-band-cancels-concert

equitiyarc.org: