Kennedy Center for the Arts, the audience rang out in a symphony of boos as Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance took their seats. All eyes were on the couple as they settled into the box tiers of the storied venue — 20 minutes late due to added security — for the National Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No.

The reaction toward the vice president comes on the heels of recent steps by the Trump administration to overhaul the national arts institution in D.C.