President Donald Trump has claimed for months that the Kennedy Center was in dire need of funding and renovation. Speaking to allies Saturday night, the president said his overhaul of Washington’s flagship arts facility is well underway — and this weekend’s annual celebration is serving as proof.
“It was in rough shape,” the president said at a State Department reception, comparing the changes at the arts center to his often controversial renovations of the White House. “But we’ve fixed the White House, and we’ve fixed the Kennedy Center.”
Saturday night’s reception helped kick off the Kennedy Center Honors, the organization’s largest fundraiser, which recognizes an annual class of honorees. This year’s recipients — who include glam-metal band Kiss, country music legend George Strait and singer Gloria Gaynor — will be celebrated Sunday night at the Kennedy Center after a tumultuous year for the facility.
Trump terminated the Kennedy Center’s board and fired its president in February, installing close allies to lead the organization. He has also pushed to change its programming mix, encouraging more Christian-themed events among other shifts. The changes and Trump’s involvement have alienated numerous artists who have pledged not to perform there.
The president and his allies counter that they have brought in additional funding — securing more than $250 million from congressional Republicans this year — and corporate sponsors. Richard Grenell, the Kennedy Center’s director, said Saturday night that the organization had raised $23 million from this year’s honors, almost doubling last year’s $12.7 million in fundraising and setting a record for the nearly five-decade-old awards show.
“We have totally turned the place around,” Grenell said, crediting Trump’s influence. “He is the one who gave us the vision to change the programming, raise the money, bring in the corporate dollars.”
Other financial indicators have been less optimistic. Kennedy Center ticket sales have fallen since Trump’s takeover, with sales for orchestra, theater and dance performances at their lowest levels since the return of events during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a Washington Post analysis.
Stars of stage and screen have also continued to stay away. Kelsey Grammer, an actor best known for his TV performances in “Cheers” and “Frasier,” was arguably the highest-profile performer to walk the red carpet ahead of Saturday night’s dinner, outside of the honorees themselves. Recent celebrations during the Biden administration drew higher-wattage stars such as actors Julia Roberts, Robert De Niro, Sean Penn and other top Hollywood performers — many of whom are avowed Democrats.
Trump, who will serve as host of Sunday night’s ceremony, has molded this year’s Honors around his personal tastes and instincts. The president has long-standing relationships with several honorees, including actor Sylvester Stallone, who starred in films such as “Rocky” and “Rambo,” and Broadway performer Michael Crawford, who played the titular “Phantom of the Opera.” Both men received extended praise in Trump’s remarks on Saturday night.
“I don’t want to say how many times I’ve seen you in Phantom,” the president told Crawford. “But, you know, when you have a great artist … every time you see it, it gets better.”
Trump has also been hands-on with this weekend’s programming decisions, such as deciding to televise Saturday afternoon’s medal ceremony from the Oval Office for the first time.
He spoke Saturday night about personally inspecting the Kennedy Center’s renovations in recent months.
“I spent a lot of time there with contractors,” Trump said, adding that he has two jobs — his role as president and his “construction job,” which relaxes him.
The Kennedy Center played host Friday to another major event: the World Cup Draw, a live selection show run by FIFA, the global soccer federation, to determine matchups for next year’s World Cup tournament. The event was encouraged by Trump and drew a global audience, but it means that Kennedy Center employees are facing a 48-hour window to turn around the facility for Sunday’s show.
Half a mile away, at the State Department, Trump basked Saturday night in a two-minute-plus standing ovation as he entered the reception, waiting until Lee Greenwood’s anthem “God Bless the USA” had ended before taking his seat.
In his 37-minute remarks, Trump mused about the Kennedy Center’s renovations, Stallone’s career, the New England Patriots, the UFC fight set to be staged at the White House next year, his recent golf outing with renowned golfer Gary Player, crime in American cities and the Biden administration’s policies, among other topics.
He also said he was hosting the Honors “at the request of a certain television network.” CBS, which will air the program in two weeks, is owned by Paramount Skydance Corporation, which is led by David Ellison, a Trump ally.
Paramount Skydance executives and prominent CBS journalists, including its president, Jeff Shell, the company’s top lawyer, Makan Delrahim, and senior news correspondent Norah O’Donnell, attended Saturday night’s dinner. Other attendees included Robert Kraft, owner of the NFL’s New England Patriots, and Dan DeVos, chairman of the NBA’s Orlando Magic.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr were among the numerous Trump officials in attendance.
“This is a very brilliant and very important group of people that are in this room tonight,” Trump said.
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