Embattled Trumps to skip top art awards
(Artdaily.org)

Donald and Melania Trump will skip one of America`s top art awards, the Kennedy Center Honors, the White House announced Saturday in the latest sign of the president`s growing isolation after one of the most disastrous weeks of his young administration. The decision -- which came after several honorees said they would boycott a White House reception for the awards -- was intended to allow the events to go ahead without `political distraction,` Trump`s spokeswoman said. But the decision came at a moment of extreme distraction, as Trump faced a torrent of criticism over his reaction to the violent protests last week in Virginia, and as white nationalists were gathering Saturday for a new `free speech` rally in Boston, with large numbers of counterprotesters expected amid fears of fresh violence. The exceptionally turbulent week was capped by Trump`s firing Friday of top strategist Steve Bannon, a man known as a political scrapper closely associated with the white nationalism of the `alt-