Yes, the president of the United States hosted the Kennedy Center Honors.
The 48th iteration of the awards gala kicked off Sunday evening with President Donald Trump taking the stage as the first head of state to act as the show’s host. Trump, who seized control of the Kennedy Center earlier this year, appeared to be enjoying himself as he introduced each of the honorees: glam metal band Kiss, actor Michael Crawford, country music legend George Strait, actor Sylvester Stallone and disco star Gloria Gaynor.
For many in the reliably pro-MAGA crowd, Trump may have been the biggest name of the evening. The president addressed the room several times to deliver relatively tight, short remarks and jokes that won cheers and laughter. His hosting — never an especially involved job at the Honors — eventually took the form of prerecorded videos introducing most acts. Legends dotted the crowd, especially from the country music world, but Hollywood turnout was noticeably down.
“These honorees are not only exemplifying the best of America, they have become part of the fabric of America,” Trump said of the recipients, adding a tribute to the “late, great” Ace Frehley, the founding member of Kiss who died in October.
Speaking from the red carpet earlier in the evening, Trump said he personally approved the honorees from about 50 names, joked he would nominate himself for an honor next year and touted the physical changes he is making to the center.
“John F. Kennedy would have done a very good job hosting,” Trump said, when asked whether other presidents could do the job. “But building, no. … I build better than anybody.”
The night’s festivities capped a dramatic year at the storied arts institution, which Trump took over of in February in a leadership purge that brought about mass firings and resignations, sent ticket sales plunging and sparked criticism that the president was politicizing an American landmark. Usually, the president and first lady sit in the presidential box of the Opera House and watch the Honors. This time, in a first, the president is both the center’s chair and Honors emcee — a role he revealed in August when he unveiled the year’s honorees.
The center was abuzz with activity throughout the evening. Staffers set up a reception in the Grand Foyer with elaborate photo backdrops for each of the honorees: a disco-ball wall for Gaynor, cowboy hats for Strait and the “Rocky” steps for Stallone. Stars and top officials arrived, a Trump-era riff on the usual Honors shoulder-rubbing: besides the honorees and the Trumps, also spotted on the Hall of Nations’ red carpet were Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), Trump administration official Kari Lake, and TV host-turned-health care-administrator Mehmet Oz.
A tribute to Stallone got the show underway, with toasts from his fellow actors and his brother Frank Stallone. Kurt Russell, his co-star in the 1989 action movie “Tango & Cash,” introduced the actor, recalling his first time seeing the film “Rocky.”
“I wondered out loud, where in the hell did they find this boxer who is such a great actor,” Russell said. He recalled with fondness getting to know Stallone on the job. “When Sly gives you a love tap, its like a sledgehammer hitting your shoulder,” he joked.
In a video introducing “Phantom of the Opera” star Crawford, Trump, who is an avid fan of the musical and has played its songs at rallies, called the actor a “once-in-a-generation talent with an unbelievable voice, who defined a role that will live forever in Broadway history, and frankly in musical history.”
Actor Kelsey Grammer sang a showmanly introduction to an appreciative Crawford, drawing some chuckles from the audience. “Your versatility and range shines in your work, film, television, theater,” Grammer went on to say, pointing to his work on “Hello, Dolly!”, a British sitcom and “Phantom.” “Nothing can escape you or limit you.”
A handful of country stars took the stage to showcase George Strait’s music. The duo Brooks and Dunn performed the 1980s hit “Amarillo by Morning,” earning a thumbs-up from the honoree. Vince Gill sang “Troubadour” and Miranda Lambert took “Run.”
In another video introduction, Trump praised Strait, a Texan whose “songs will always find a home wherever American patriots are found.”
A dizzying display of strobe lights announced Gloria Gaynor’s segment: Flashes of fuchsia and yellow filled the hall as musician Elle King, donning fur, belted out “I Will Survive.” Dancer and singer Montana Tucker called Gaynor a “musical culture shifter who took the mantle and had your finger on the nerve of an entire genre” while bringing Deniece Williams to sing some of Gaynor’s hits.
Trump, in a video, said Kiss “pushed the boundaries of rock and roll with spectacular, full-scale productions, elaborate costumes, extensive makeup and explosive pyrotechnics” and called them “a great rock and roll institution.” Garth Brooks hailed the group’s signature visage: “The face-painting idea was better than timeless. It was genius.”
During their tribute, a smoking guitar appeared onstage in memory of Frehley, who died in October and was known for leaning into the band’s pyrotechnics by launching smoke bombs and lasers from his instrument. His daughter, Monique Frehley, received the guitarist’s medal Saturday and attended the gala Sunday.
The Honors is usually the biggest fundraising opportunity of the year for the Kennedy Center. On Saturday, the center’s president Richard Grenell said the center had raised $23 million from this year’s Honors, nearly doubling last year’s $12.7 million in fundraising and setting a record for the nearly 50-year-old event.
Long among the premier social events in the city, the Honors awards lifetime achievements in the arts. Like past years, tonight’s ceremony was not televised live but will be broadcast on CBS on Dec. 23 and stream on Paramount Plus.
Much of the weekend has borne the fingerprints of Trump, who has molded this year’s Honors around his personal tastes and instincts. The ceremonies began Saturday with an Oval Office medal ceremony and private dinner at the State Department.
The president has long-standing affection for several honorees — actor Stallone is a friend; Crawford starred in Broadway’s “Phantom of the Opera,” a Trump favorite — and has made a number of programming decisions, such as deciding to televise Saturday afternoon’s medal ceremony from the Oval Office for the first time.
Which stars would attend the gala had been an open question since Trump’s takeover, after which a slew of artists declared a boycott of the center. Sunday’s lineup included Grammer, actor Laura Osnes, country artist Vince Gill and jazz musician Arturo Sandoval, an honoree last year.
On Saturday evening, Trump basked in a two-minute-plus standing ovation as he entered the State Department’s reception, waiting until Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” ended before taking his seat.
In short remarks, Grenell told the crowd that Trump had saved the Kennedy Center by securing about $250 million in congressional funding and pushing for new programming. The praise prompted smiles from the president as he watched from a nearby table.
“The Kennedy Center was neglected,” Grenell said. “We have totally turned the place around.”
In his own 37-minute, often freewheeling remarks Saturday, Trump mused about the Kennedy Center renovations, Stallone’s career, the New England Patriots, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fight set to be staged at the White House next year, a recent golf outing with legendary golfer Gary Player, the Biden administration’s policies and other topics.
He also said he was hosting the Honors “at the request of a certain television network.” CBS, the Kennedy Center’s longtime broadcast partner which will air the program in two weeks, is owned by Paramount Skydance Corporation, which is led by David Ellison, a Trump ally.
Speaking from the red carpet Sunday, Roma Daravi, vice president of public relations at the Kennedy Center, said the institution will play a central role in celebrations for the country’s 250th anniversary. “Going into America 250, there is a really clear path forward for us as America’s cultural center,” she said. “We are going to be celebrated by countries around the world.”
Trump has repeatedly referred to the Kennedy Center as the “Trump Kennedy Center,” and House Republicans have suggested renaming the building after the Trumps. When asked Sunday evening about such changes, Daravi said, “This is the Kennedy Center and we are at the Kennedy Center [Honors].”
“It’s not up to me,” Trump said Sunday of the same question, mentioning the board of trustees he installed. “It’s a really prestigious board, and that’s up to them. I don’t know what they’re doing about that.” He later joked about the name change onstage.
The night ended, however, with a focus not on the name on the building, but on more immediate matters. The rock band Cheap Trick — which once mocked the idea of performing at the 2016 Republican National Convention that nominated Trump — performed Kiss’s most famous fist-pumper, “Rock and Roll All Nite.”
Much of the room — even the first lady — were up on their feet dancing.
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