DNYUZ
  • Home
  • News
    • U.S.
    • World
    • Politics
    • Opinion
    • Business
    • Crime
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Science
  • Entertainment
    • Culture
    • Music
    • Movie
    • Television
    • Theater
    • Gaming
    • Sports
  • Tech
    • Apps
    • Autos
    • Gear
    • Mobile
    • Startup
  • Lifestyle
    • Arts
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Health
    • Travel
No Result
View All Result
DNYUZ
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Trump will be present at Kennedy Center as honorees are announced today

August 13, 2025
in News
Trump will be present at Kennedy Center as honorees are announced today
493
SHARES
1.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

President Donald Trump, embracing his new role as chairman of the Kennedy Center, was set to be on hand Wednesday as the recipients of its annual award are announced, and both he and the performing arts venue hint at coming renovations to its building.

Trump avoided the Kennedy Center Honors awards program during his first term after artists said they would not attend out of protest.

This year, the Republican president has taken over as the Kennedy Center’s new chairman and fired the board of trustees, which he replaced with loyalists.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
President Trump, embracing his new role as chairman of the Kennedy Center, was set to be on hand Wednesday as the recipients of its annual award are announced. AP

In a Truth Social post on Tuesday, Trump teased a name change for the center, formally the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and said it would be restored to its past glory.

“GREAT Nominees for the TRUMP/KENNEDY CENTER, whoops, I mean, KENNEDY CENTER, AWARDS,” Trump wrote. He said work was being done on the site that would be “bringing it back to the absolute TOP LEVEL of luxury, glamour, and entertainment.”

“It had fallen on hard times, physically, BUT WILL SOON BE MAKING A MAJOR COMEBACK!!!” he wrote.

In a statement on its social media feed, the Kennedy Center said it is “honored” to host Trump, who will be visiting for the third time since January, and hinted that he would announce a construction project.

“Thanks to his advocacy, our beautiful building will undergo renovations to restore its prestige and grandeur,” the venue said. “We are also excited to be announcing this year’s INCREDIBLE slate of Kennedy Center Honorees.”

Trump complained during a March visit that the building is in a state of “tremendous disrepair.”

President Trump and Melania Trump arriving at the Kennedy Center.
Donald Trump and Melania Trump attend “Les Misérables” opening night at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 11, 2025. REUTERS

It is unclear how this year’s honorees were chosen, though Trump had indicated he wanted a more active role.

Historically, a bipartisan advisory committee selects the recipients, who over the years have ranged from George Balanchine and Tom Hanks to Aretha Franklin and Stephen Sondheim.

A message sent to the Kennedy Center press office asking how this year’s honorees were selected wasn’t returned on Tuesday.

The Kennedy Center did post this on social media, however: “Coming Soon … A country music icon, an Englishman, a New York City Rock band, a dance Queen and a multi-billion dollar Actor walk into the Kennedy Center Opera House …”

In the past, Trump has floated the idea of granting Kennedy Center Honors status to singer-songwriter Paul Anka and Sylvester Stallone, one of three actors Trump named as Hollywood ambassadors earlier this year.

Anka was supposed to perform “My Way” at Trump’s first inaugural and backed out at the last moment.

The Kennedy Center Honors were established in 1978 and have been given to a broad range of artists.

Until Trump’s first term, presidents of both major political parties traditionally attended the annual ceremony, even when they disagreed politically with a given recipient.

Prominent liberals such as Barbra Streisand and Warren Beatty were honored during the administration of Republican George W. Bush, and a leading conservative, Charlton Heston, was feted during the administration of Democrat Bill Clinton.

In 2017, after honoree Norman Lear declared that he would not attend a White House celebration in protest of Trump’s proposed cuts to federal arts funding, Trump and first lady Melania Trump decided to skip the Kennedy Center event and remained away throughout his first term.

Honorees during that time included such Trump critics as Cher, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Sally Field.

Since taking office for a second time, Trump has taken a much more forceful stance on the Kennedy Center and inserted himself into its governance.

Besides naming himself chairman and remaking the board, he also has indicated he would take over decisions regarding programming at the center and vowed to end events featuring performers in drag.

Donald Trump touring the Kennedy Center.
Trump took over as the Kennedy Center’s new chairman and fired the board of trustees, replacing them with loyalists. AFP via Getty Images

The steps have drawn further criticism from some artists.

In March, the producers of “Hamilton” pulled out of staging the Broadway hit musical in 2026, citing Trump’s aggressive takeover of the institution’s leadership.

Other artists who canceled events include actor Issa Rae, singer Rhiannon Giddens, and author Louise Penny.

House Republicans added an amendment to a spending bill that Trump signed into law in July to rename the Kennedy Center’s Opera House after Melania Trump, but that venue has yet to be renamed.

Maria Shriver, a niece of the late President Kennedy, a Democrat, has criticized as “insane” a separate House proposal to rename the entire center after Trump.

Recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors are given a medallion on a rainbow ribbon, a nod to the range of skills that fall under the performing arts.

In April, the center changed the lights on the exterior from the long-standing rainbow to a permanent red, white, and blue display.

The post Trump will be present at Kennedy Center as honorees are announced today appeared first on New York Post.

Tags: Donald TrumpKennedy CenterKennedy Center Honors
Share197Tweet123Share
Portland police seek public’s help after ‘safe space’ officer loses track of assault suspect near ICE facility
News

Portland police seek public’s help after ‘safe space’ officer loses track of assault suspect near ICE facility

by Fox News
October 1, 2025

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Police are seeking the public’s help in finding a woman accused of ...

Read more
News

Tattooed brute kills himself inside NJ jail cell one day after being convicted for wife’s murder

October 1, 2025
News

‘Chicago Med’s Steven Weber Talks Baby Daddy Drama As Show Boss Reveals If Asher Will Welcome Baby In Season 11

October 1, 2025
News

In Portugal, the cool of the night is when some vineyards harvest grapes

October 1, 2025
News

Teen driver dies following weekend car crash in East Valley

October 1, 2025
MAGA Sen Says Budget Goon Has Been ‘Dreaming of Shutdown Since Puberty’

MAGA Sen Says Budget Goon Has Been ‘Dreaming of Shutdown Since Puberty’

October 1, 2025
How the Czech rust belt echoes America’s populist shift

How the Czech rust belt echoes America’s populist shift

October 1, 2025
TikTok Investor Worried About “Love and Respect for Israel” in U.S.

TikTok Investor Worried About “Love and Respect for Israel” in U.S.

October 1, 2025

Copyright © 2025.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • U.S.
    • World
    • Politics
    • Opinion
    • Business
    • Crime
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Science
  • Entertainment
    • Culture
    • Gaming
    • Music
    • Movie
    • Sports
    • Television
    • Theater
  • Tech
    • Apps
    • Autos
    • Gear
    • Mobile
    • Startup
  • Lifestyle
    • Arts
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Health
    • Travel

Copyright © 2025.