President Donald Trump has announced that he will be the host of the Kennedy Center Honors, who will honor actor Sylvester Stallone, rock band Kiss and singer Gloria Gaynor, among others, during the first year of her presidency of Washington’s main performic arts center, DC.
The president also promised to “completely renew” John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, including the replacement of armchairs and infrastructure repair, using $ 257 million of his tax and spending bill to make him “an American arts and culture jewel.”
“I think we will raise this to a higher level than it has ever reached,” Trump said on Wednesday during an event to announce the honorees, adding that the building will have a prominent role in celebrating the country’s 250th anniversary next year.
Free tool
XP Simulator
Learn in 1 minute how much your money can yield
The other honorees this year are the country of country music George Strait and the English theater actor Michael Crawford.
The event marked the latest example of Trump’s effort to exercise control over the country’s capital, which he accused of being dominated by crime and “Woke” ideology propagated by Democratic leaders. National Guard troops, traveling in armored vehicles, began to arrive in Washington this week after Trump federalizing the city’s police department and deploying soldiers.
The measures were taken despite the statistics show that violent crime in Washington has reached the lowest level in 30 years.
Continues after advertising
Trump did not participate in Kennedy Center’s ceremonies during his first term, when several artists and performers threatened to boycott the protest against their policies. Earlier this year, Trump assumed the presidency after dismissing the curators’ council and replenishes him with loyal allies.
It was a shock for an institution that enjoyed a long tradition of bipartisan governance. A acting president did not hold the position of president of the Center, and the annual award show is usually presented by an artist.
Trump, on Wednesday, seemed to delight in his role, comparing the host functions to his former reality show, The Apprentice, saying, “It will be a great night. I was invited to present.”
Continues after advertising
To justify his control over the Performic Arts Center, Trump criticized the artistic choices made under the previous leadership as politicized, claimed that the institution was in a state of deterioration and stated – without evidence – that those responsible for the institution’s supervision spent money inadequately spent money.
“We completely reversed the decline of this dear national institution. She was being set aside,” said Trump. “I should make it political, because they made the political Oscar and he went to the hole. So they will say that Trump made it political, but I think if we do it our political way, let’s go up.”
It was not exactly clear as this year’s honorees were chosen. Trump said he was “about 98% involved” and that Kennedy Center president Ric Grenell, a longtime counselor of Trump, and curator Sergio Gor, who is also a White House staff director, helped to present options.
Continues after advertising
“I refused many,” said Trump. “I had some ‘wokesters’.”
Some of the honorees highlighted Trump’s cultural tastes and their connections with the world of entertainment. The president is a declared fan of musicals-Crawford’s performances include the lead role in Opera’s Ghost-and Stallone is a declared supporter of Trump, once comparing him to a “second George Washington.”
Trump changes at Kennedy Center have caused a negative reaction in the arts world, with prominent artists canceling events and the successful musical Hamilton abandoning plans for a production. Trump reacted by saying that “he never liked Hamilton very much” during a board meeting and a visit to the premises in March and instead said the center would receive Les Miserables.
Continues after advertising
He attended a presentation of the successful musical about the French Revolution in June, accompanied by the first lady Melania Trump-an appearance that generated boos and applause, according to media reports. A video of Vice President JD Vance and the second golden of the USha Vance being received with boos at an event this year circulated on social networks and generated conviction of Grenell, who accused the audience of being “intolerant with diverse political opinions.”
Kennedy Center offers a wide cultural programming, including theater, opera, ballet and orchestral music, and is the House of the National Symphony Orchestra and the Washington National Opera.
It has long been a central point in the capital’s art scene, and the turbulence involving the institution reflects the broader excitement that Washington faces while the city, mostly Democrat, deals with a strengthened republican president.
Continues after advertising
Washington is already undergoing the impacts of Trump’s efforts to reduce the size of the federal government’s workforce, and local leaders issued severe alerts about city services after Republicans controlled Congress removed $ 1 billion from the Washington budget earlier this year.
There are also concerns about the impact of Trump changes at the Kennedy Center on the institution’s financial future. Former Center President David M. Rubenstein was the largest individual donor in Kennedy Center history.
Grenell said he hopes to maintain and expand the center’s donor base and justified changes in programming as necessary to arouse more public interest and ensure the future of the institution.
© 2025 Bloomberg L.P.
