On February 5, 2025, I discussed my vision for serving as chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, together with how Trump is beautifying civic architecture, on the Ben Shapiro Show.
I explained, “My vision comes from Dana Gioia, the masterful poet and translator who ran the NEA under George W. Bush. He said, ‘A great nation deserves great art.’ For too long, the NEA has not been producing great art, and I think this is one major reason that Republicans and conservatives have long called for defunding it. But I think that the highest art is that which is beautiful, profound, or moving, and we can foment a cultural renaissance in this country by using the NEA as a vehicle.”
Shapiro commented, “Well, Justin, good luck to you in the quest. If you do become the head of the NEA, that’d be wonderful. Obviously, President Trump’s vision for revitalizing America’s architecture and making the country beautiful again would be really nice because the fact is that so many of our federal buildings are, in fact, deliberately ugly and designed to intimidate. Justin does great work on this.”
YouTube: https://youtu.be/gHtAkCs0rSY