Trump's Kennedy Center Vanity Pose Reveals He's A Bigger Theater Nerd Than We Realized

"Don't cry for me, Mar-a-Lago ..." Well, it doesn't have quite the same ring, but Donald Trump gave the internet major Broadway vibes when he visited the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on St. Patrick's Day 2025. (Yes, the same theater where Vice President JD Vance was loudly booed just days earlier.) Declaring the renowned center (which was renovated in 2019) "in tremendous disrepair" (via NPR), the self-appointed chairman hinted at a structural overhaul to go along with his cultural overhaul of the venue. Reporters and camera crews followed Trump to the President's Box in the balcony of the concert hall, where he struck a pose which instantly lit up the internet after the photo was released. People saw strong resemblances to a Disney World animatronic figure, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, and even Statler and Waldorf, the grouchy hecklers from "The Muppet Show." But the overwhelming opinion was that Trump seemed to be recreating the famous balcony pose from "Evita."

The president is a huge fan of Andrew Lloyd Webber, composer of "The Phantom of the Opera," Cats," and "Jesus Christ Superstar," among others. But he's partial to one show in particular: In his 2004 book "Think Like a Billionaire," Trump wrote (via MSNBC), "My favorite show is 'Evita' by Andrew Lloyd Webber, starring Patti LuPone. I saw it six times, mostly with Ivana." The musical was made into a movie in 1996, starring Madonna as Eva Perón.

"Evita" is a look at the life of Eva Perón, the one-time first lady of Argentina. Like President Donald Trump, who transformed himself from "Apprentice" host to White House occupant, Perón was an actress-turned-political figure. Like Trump, Perón gained a huge following by appealing to the masses and promising prosperity to the disadvantaged.

The similarities between the two aren't all complimentary, though. Like the president, Eva Perón was suspected by critics of skimming profits from her charity work and not doing enough to help the people she claimed to represent. Despite her denials, she enjoyed the thrill of power, and her husband, president Juan Perón, was an authoritarian leader who suppressed the media and had no patience for dissidents. Still, when she tragically died of cancer at only 33, the country went into deep mourning and declared her a saint. 

It should come as welcome news to Trump that "Evita" is being revived at London's West End, starring Rachel Zegler. If the limited-run show proves to be a hit, it wouldn't surprise us to see the president bring it to the Kennedy Center where he can watch from his VIP seats. There should be plenty of room in the schedule, considering "Hamilton" has already bowed out of their commitment there in protest over the takeover of the D.C. theater. No great loss, according to the president: "I never liked 'Hamilton' very much," he said (via USA Today).