Just days after ordering a federal takeover of Washington D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department, President Donald Trump took the Kennedy Center’s red carpet on Wednesday to announce he’ll personally host the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors on CBS this December. Presidents have long attended the gala as audience members, but Trump will be the first to take the stage as emcee. Standing at a blue presidential lectern, Trump admitted he initially refused, but White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles persuaded him, and “That’s the power she’s got.”
Trump boasted he chose “98 percent” of this year’s honorees, country star George Strait, theater legend Michael Crawford, actor Sylvester Stallone, singer Gloria Gaynor, and rock band KISS. He admitted to having rejected several “woke” options. He praised Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” as “unbelievable” and teased a “very special” performance from KISS.
Since naming himself Kennedy Center board chair, Trump has ousted members, ended what he calls “woke political programming,” and appointed gay former ambassador Richard Grenell to a new executive role, which prompted Capital Pride Alliance to pull WorldPride events from the venue. For many in the queer community, the Honors have always been about cultural celebration. But with Trump promising to make the Kennedy Center reflect “our kind of political” vision, some fear the gala may now serve more as a stage for his agenda than for the arts.
