Trump announces Kennedy Center honorees as he tries to put his stamp on DC
The appearance at the iconic performing arts complex came as Trump seeks greater authority over Washington, DC, and its most prominent cultural institutions in an aggressive bid to put his stamp on the Democratic-led city. Trump seized control of the institution's board earlier this year, telling reporters Wednesday he would oversee a sweeping revamp of the center and its programming.
'We ended the woke political programming, and we're restoring the Kennedy Center as the premier venue for performing arts anywhere in the country, anywhere in the world,' Trump said. 'We have some unbelievable plans.'
Trump, who said he was '98% involved' in picking the center's next slate of honorees, announced that the awards would be given to singer and songwriter George Strait; actors Michael Crawford and Sylvester Stallone; singer Gloria Gaynor; and the rock band KISS.
While insisting that he did not push to be part of the award presentations, Trump nevertheless appeared to relish the prospect of hosting a television show again, years after rising to national prominence as the face of the reality TV show 'The Apprentice.'
'I think it will be quite successful,' Trump said. 'It's been a long time. I used to host the 'Apprentice' finales, and we did rather well with that.'
The visit marks the president's third Kennedy Center appearance since returning to the White House, underscoring his personal interest in the activities of the performing arts center.
At Trump's behest, congressional Republicans set aside $250 million in July for renovations to the center as part of their tax and spending bill. Those funds will go toward an expansive overhaul of the Kennedy Center, Trump said, arguing that it was badly in need of repairs when he took control of its operations.
'I'm determined to make Washington, DC, safe, clean and beautiful again,' he said. 'A big part of that is going to include the Kennedy Center.'
In addition to assuming oversight of the performing arts center, Trump has pressured DC's museums, memorials and other historic sites to recast American history in a more favorable light, criticizing what he called in a March executive order a 'revisionist movement' meant to 'undermine the remarkable achievements of the United States.' On Tuesday, the White House ordered a review of Smithsonian museums and exhibits to ensure alignment with that directive.
The president has also embarked on wide-ranging renovation of the White House. And in an unprecedented move this week fueled by his personal frustration with incidents of crime and homelessness in DC, Trump federalized the city's police force.
The sprawling effort to exert federal influence across DC is an escalation from his first term, during which he remained largely disengaged from the cultural institutions of a city that had overwhelmingly rejected him at the ballot box. Trump notably declined to attend the Kennedy Center Honors all four years after some of the honorees in 2017 said they would boycott a traditional White House pre-reception.
Yet since returning to office, he has prioritized bending key elements of DC to his will, as part of what officials have framed as an effort to beautify the city and its key institutions and drive out what Trump has long criticized as 'woke' elements that don't conform to his worldview.
The Kennedy Center has served as an early focal point of that project, drawing an institution that had traditionally remained above the fray of partisan politics directly into the center of the nation's culture wars.
Trump in February dismissed a slew of Democratic appointees from the center's board of trustees, replacing them with aides and allies that included chief of staff Susie Wiles and second lady Usha Vance. Trump was subsequently elected chairman, with longtime confidant Ric Grenell installed as the Kennedy Center's new president.
The takeover prompted sharp criticism from Democrats and angered artists connected to the Kennedy Center — including the producer of the hit musical 'Hamilton,' who cancelled an upcoming run of the show that was supposed to go through 2026. A series of other prominent artists, including director Shonda Rhimes and musician Ben Folds, resigned from their positions at the center.
Since then, Trump has taken a hands-on approach to overhauling programming and drawing up plans for renovating the complex. Asked about his involvement in picking the center's next honorees, Trump said he personally sifted through the candidates, rejecting some he felt were too 'woke.'
He added that while he anticipated blowback for politicizing the Kennedy Center Honors, the controversy might drive up ratings for the awards show 'if we make it our kind of political.'
On Monday, the Kennedy Center said it would host the premier of a film produced by the Christian Broadcasting Network that 'showcases the remarkable resurgence of faith among the youth in America.' It's an early sign of how programming may shift under the Trump-appointed leadership. The movie includes an appearance by Ben Carson, Trump's former secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
That premier follows an earlier run of 'Les Misérables' — a favorite musical of Trump's — that the president attended in June. The appearance drew a mixed reaction, with some attendees booing Trump and four drag queens sitting below the presidential box in protest of his prior vows to rid the Kennedy Center of drag shows.
Yet within the GOP, the Kennedy Center has become another rallying point for demonstrating loyalty to Trump. In July, House Republicans added a measure to a spending bill that would rename the center's opera house after first lady Melania Trump.
Soon after, Rep. Bob Onder of Missouri introduced the Make Entertainment Great Again Act, which would go a step further and strip former President John F. Kennedy's name from the complex in favor of making it the 'Donald J. Trump Center for Performing Arts.'
But ahead of Trump's visit on Wednesday, that proposal had yet to gain steam; so far, Onder's legislation has not attracted a single co-sponsor.
This headline and story have been updated with additional developments.
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