Trump claims rave reviews for hosting Kennedy Center Honors – before ceremony even ends | Donald Trump
Donald Trump added a new job title — awards host — to his presidential portfolio on Sunday. Kennedy Center Honors He claimed that his show in Washington received “rave reviews” before it even finished.
The US president avoided the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts during his first term. But since returning to office in January, he has turned the complex into a lightning rod in a broader attack on what he calls “woke” anti-American culture.
“This is the greatest evening in the history of the Kennedy Center; it’s not even a contest,” Trump said with obvious delight from behind the presidential lectern at center stage. “There has never been anything like this and the series is already receiving rave reviews.
“Now I will say that I guarantee fake news will do terrible things to me – ‘It sucked as a presenter. Never let that happen again’! But I guarantee one thing. We’ll get big ratings today. It’s hot in here.”
The president jokingly mentioned the renamed “Trump-Kennedy Center,” drawing laughter and applause, before adding: “Well, we’re having a really good time tonight. I know a lot of people in this audience. Some good, some bad. Some I really like and respect. Some I just hate.”
The honors are the nation’s highest recognition for lifetime achievement in the performing arts. Trump’s determination to attend Sunday’s ceremony underscored his unprecedented effort to dominate America’s cultural sphere over the past 10 months.
He took control of the Kennedy Center in February, becoming the first president to host the prestigious honor in its 47-year history, following in the footsteps of Walter Cronkite, Caroline Kennedy, Stephen Colbert, Glenn Close and Queen Latifah.
His duties included a 20-minute walk down the red carpet with his wife, Melania, to answer reporters’ questions, followed by three speeches on the opera house stage, while a series of pre-recorded videos from the Oval Office were played on the big screen to introduce each of the honorees.
Trump, the former host of the reality TV show The Apprentice, said he was deeply involved in the selection of the recipients and that about 50 names were narrowed down to five.
The show draws on film actor Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky (1976), Michael Crawford’s performance in The Phantom of the Opera (1986), George Strait’s emergence as a country star in the 1980s, disco singer Gloria Gaynor’s hit single I Will Survive (1978), and rock band Kiss’s live album Alive! (1975), featuring the hit Rock and Roll All Nite.
The night ended with Trump breaking into the Rocky theme music and receiving cheers, applause, and chants of “We love you!” It started with screams. from an audience that is markedly less racially diverse than in recent years.
Trump said the honorees shared the quality of determination. “Some of them had legendary mishaps, mishaps that you had to read about in the papers because of their level of fame. But in the words of Rocky Balboa, they showed us that you keep moving forward, you just keep moving forward.”
He said many politicians, celebrities and viewers also share this trait. “I know many of you, and you are persistent. Many of you are miserable, terrible people. But you are persistent, you never give up. Sometimes I wish you would give up, but you don’t.”
Afterwards, actor Kurt Russell and others paid tribute to Stallone. Next up was a tribute to British stage actor Crawford, who played the lead role in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical The Phantom of the Opera. The title song of this show and a rendition of his song The Music of the Night were performed as a tribute.
Singers Vince Gill, Miranda Lambert and country duo Brooks & Dunn sang in Strait’s honor, and Gaynor was celebrated with a version of her signature song, complete with disco lights shining around the theater.
The final award went to Kiss, whose members Paul Stanley, Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss rose to fame with hits such as I Was Made for Lovin’ You. Frehley died in October. Singer Garth Brooks performed a stirring rendition of Shout It Out Loud, and rock band Cheap Trick rounded out the night with a performance of Rock and Roll All Nite.
Among the audience were U.S. defense secretary Pete Hegseth, commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, Medicare and Medicaid chief Mehmet Oz, U.S. Global Media Agency leader Kari Lake and Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin. Democrats were far fewer in number than ever before.
Trump proved more disciplined with his remarks than at some other high-profile events, but he couldn’t resist partisan scoring. “You know, they tried to take [Joe] “For Biden to do this,” he said harshly: “They tried to catch him for four years in a row. ‘I don’t think so,’ he said. It would be very interesting, wouldn’t it? “I would watch it too.” The audience burst out laughing.
Trump’s impact on the Kennedy Center has been dramatic. He fired his president, installed a new board that made him president, and ordered the building renovated.
The center’s new president, Ric Grenell, who once served as Trump’s ambassador to Germany, is overseeing a multimillion-dollar renovation of the performing arts complex and revamping the organization’s events, including hosting last Friday’s World Cup draw.
Grenell’s tenure was determined by staff turnover and discontent in the arts community with the direction of the center. decline in ticket sales.
For the past decade, the red carpet of the Kennedy Center Honors has been dominated by criticism of Trump in his absence. But Sunday’s honorees were careful to avoid taking sides.
Crawford, 83, said: “I’m not political. I’ve just been invited here and here I am. We work for the audience. We don’t know who they are. We don’t know what color they are, how tall they are, how short they are, what they believe and what they don’t believe. They’re in the dark and we’re entertaining you.”
Kiss’s Stanley said: “Over-politicizing celebrations of the arts is a distortion of intent, and over the years nominees and past award winners have certainly not been asked who they voted for or what their political beliefs are. At some point it’s important for people to open their minds and shut up.”
Kiss singer Simmons, wearing python-skin shoes, added: “Whether you’re a fan of the president or not, he’s never boring. The worst thing is when a bloated person gets up there and gives long speeches. No matter what he does, this president is going to be fun.”
Trump was asked how he prepared for his first hosting of the Kennedy Center Honors. “I have a lot on my plate and I haven’t done much preparation,” he admitted. “I read a little bit. I have a good memory, so I can remember things, which was very lucky. But I just wanted to be myself. You have to be yourself. Johnny Carson: that was him.”
The Kennedy Center Honors program will air on December 23 on the CBS television network
