Trump dawdles when it comes to handing out medals in arts, humanities
For decades the United States has recognized its greatest artists — about a dozen each year — with a national medal, an award created by Congress and typically distributed annually by the president at a White House ceremony.
Since 1985, arts figures including Georgia O’Keeffe, Frank Capra and Ella Fitzgerald have received the National Medal of Arts while similar cultural achievement has been recognized by the National Humanities Medal, which presidents have awarded to the likes of Steven Spielberg, Anna Deavere Smith and Louise Glück.
But neither medal has been awarded since President Donald Trump took office, the longest gap ever and one that again draws attention to the president’s often awkward relationship with the arts. The deadline for nominations for the 2016 arts medals, which have yet to be awarded, was in February 2017.
“I’m hoping that it is a delay as opposed to a policy decision because I think it’s a good thing for these awards to happen,” said Robert Lynch, president and chief executive of Americans for the Arts, an advocacy organization.
The White House responded to questions about the medals by saying that planning is underway to distribute them as in years past. “We are currently evaluating candidates and will likely issue later this year,” said Lindsay E. Walters, a White House spokeswoman.
It does seem the delay may be simply a matter of an administrative backlog. The National Medal of Science and the National Medal of Technology and Innovation have also not been awarded since 2016.
But the holdup around the arts medals is notable because of Trump’s rocky relationship with the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. His first proposed federal budget would have eliminated these agencies, which, in addition to promoting cultural programs, recommend candidates for the national medals to the president.
Last year, Trump eliminated the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities after 16 members resigned in protest, citing his reaction to the white nationalist demonstrations in Charlottesville, Va. The president and first lady, Melania Trump, subsequently chose not to participate in the annual Kennedy Center Honors, a program that celebrates lifetime contributions to art, music, dance, film, television and culture.