(Washington) President Donald Trump received the 2025 recipients of the Kennedy Center in the Oval Office on Saturday for a medal ceremony, according to the White House.
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This year’s recipients are actor Sylvester Stallone, singers Gloria Gaynor and George Strait, rock group Kiss and actor and singer Michael Crawford.
Mr. Trump said they were a group of “incredible people” who represent “the best of American arts and culture” and that he “knew most of them and was a lifelong admirer of theirs.”
“This is a group of icons whose work and achievements have inspired, galvanized and united millions of Americans,” he added, dressed in a tuxedo. “This is perhaps the most accomplished and renowned class of Kennedy Center honorees ever assembled. »
During his first term, Mr. Trump ignored the Kennedy Center and its prestigious awards program. But since returning to power in January, the Republican president has undertaken a series of reforms, including removing the board and replacing it with Republican supporters who had elected him president.
Mr. Trump also criticized the center’s programming and appearance, and pledged to fundamentally reform them.
Trump honors recipients
George Strait, wearing a cowboy hat, was the first to receive his medal.
The president said Michael Crawford was a “big Broadway star” for his starring role in the hit musical “The Phantom of the Opera.” Of Gloria Gaynor, he says: “We have the queen of disco, and she really was, no one did it like Gloria Gaynor.” »
Trump was effusive about his friend Stallone, calling him a “wonderful” and “spectacular” person, “one of the greatest stars in cinema” and a “legend.”
“Kiss is an incredible rock band,” he added.
Songs by Gaynor and Kiss, both honorees, were played in the Rose Garden, just off the Oval Office, while White House journalists waited nearby for Mr. Trump to begin the ceremony.
In August, the president said he was “about 98 percent” involved in selecting the 2025 honorees, which he announced personally at the Kennedy Center, the first list chosen under his leadership. Traditionally, winners were announced by press release.
It was not known how the winners were chosen. Before Donald Trump, this task fell to a bipartisan selection committee.
Later Saturday, after the ceremony in the Oval Office, Mr. Trump was scheduled to attend the State Department’s annual dinner honoring the honorees. In previous years, they received their medals at this dinner, but it seems that Mr. Trump has moved the ceremony to the White House.
Meanwhile, the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors program and its tributes to each honoree will be recorded Sunday at the performing arts center for broadcast later in December on CBS and Paramount+. Donald Trump will attend the program for the first time as president, accompanied by his wife, first lady Melania Trump.
The president announced in August that he would host the ceremony, but the White House did not specify his level of involvement. Traditionally, presidents attend the program and sit with the honorees in the audience. None has ever presented it.
President Trump spent several hours at the Kennedy Center on Friday. He participated in the draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and received the FIFA Peace Prize. He also met with the leaders of Canada and Mexico.
