United States President, Donald Trump, visited the Kennedy Center on Wednesday to reveal the next group of honorees for its signature awards and to announce that he will personally host the December ceremony.
The visit to the famed performing arts venue comes as Trump moves to expand his influence over Washington, D.C., and its leading cultural landmarks.
Earlier this year, he assumed control of the center’s board and on Wednesday told reporters he intends to oversee a sweeping overhaul of both the venue 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 declared. “We have some unbelievable plans.”
Saying he was “98% involved” in selecting the next honorees, Trump named singer-songwriter George Strait, actors Michael Crawford and Sylvester Stallone, singer Gloria Gaynor, and rock band KISS as this year’s recipients.
Although insisting he did not push to be part of the award presentations, Trump made clear he relishes the opportunity to step back into the spotlight of hosting a televised event, something he had not done since his days leading “The Apprentice.”
“I think it will be quite successful,” he said. “It’s been a long time. I used to host the ‘Apprentice’ finales, and we did rather well with that.”
This marks Trump’s third visit to the Kennedy Center since returning to the White House, highlighting his personal interest in its operations.
At his urging, Republicans in Congress allocated $250 million in July for renovations, included in a broader tax and spending package. The president has described the building as badly in need of work when he took over its management.
“I’m determined to make Washington, DC, safe, clean and beautiful again,” Trump said. “A big part of that is going to include the Kennedy Center.”
Trump’s influence has not been limited to the Kennedy Center. He has pressed museums, memorials, and historic sites across the capital to present a more favourable view of U.S. history, condemning what he described in a March executive order as a “revisionist movement” seeking to “undermine the remarkable achievements of the United States.” On Tuesday, the White House directed a review of Smithsonian exhibits to ensure compliance with that policy.
The president has also launched a renovation of the White House and, in an unprecedented step this week, federalized the city’s police force, a move he linked to concerns about crime and homelessness in D.C.
In his first term, Trump kept his distance from the Kennedy Center, declining to attend its annual honors ceremony after some 2017 honorees vowed to boycott a White House reception. But since his return, he has made reshaping the city’s cultural scene a priority, targeting what he calls “woke” influences.
In February, Trump removed multiple Democratic appointees from the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees, replacing them with allies such as Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Second Lady Usha Vance.
He was then elected chairman, and longtime confidant Ric Grenell was named president of the center.
The shake-up drew backlash from Democrats and prompted some high-profile departures. The producer of the hit musical Hamilton canceled a planned run through 2026, while director Shonda Rhimes and musician Ben Folds resigned from their roles.
Since then, Trump has taken an active role in revising programming and spearheading renovation plans. He acknowledged personally reviewing candidates for the honours list and rejecting those he deemed too “woke.” While expecting criticism for politicizing the awards, Trump suggested that controversy could boost viewership “if we make it our kind of political.”
Under the new leadership, the Kennedy Center recently announced it would host the premiere of a Christian Broadcasting Network film about “the remarkable resurgence of faith among the youth in America,” featuring former HUD Secretary Ben Carson.
Earlier this summer, Trump attended a performance of Les Misérables, a personal favorite, where he was met with both applause and boos and noted protests by four drag queens seated below his box.
Within Republican circles, the Kennedy Center has become a political rallying point. In July, House Republicans proposed renaming the opera house in honor of First Lady Melania Trump.
Soon afterward, Rep. Bob Onder of Missouri introduced the Make Entertainment Great Again Act to rename the entire complex as the “Donald J. Trump Center for Performing Arts”, though, as of Wednesday, the bill had no co-sponsors.