skip to contentAdvertisementPremiumOn the red carpet before the event, Gene Simmons of Kiss, wearing shoes made of python skin, applauded the president’s decision to host the program.By: New York Times December 8, 2025 07:57 PM IST First published on: Dec 8, 2025 at 07:54 PM IST ShareWhatsapptwitterFacebookPresident Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump, walk the red carpet before the 48th Kennedy Center Honors, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)President Donald Trump took the stage at the Kennedy Center Honors on Sunday night, making himself the face of an arts event he once shunned as he paid tribute to actor Sylvester Stallone, singer Gloria Gaynor and other artists.While presidents typically attend the event at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Trump is the first to host it, putting his administration’s cultural takeover of Washington and its institutions on vivid display.Standing behind a lectern adorned with the presidential seal, Trump told the audience that as host he would “try to act like Johnny Carson,” before praising the assembled group of honorees, including singer George Strait, the band Kiss and actor Michael Crawford.“These are incredible people among the greatest artists and actors, performers, musicians, singers and songwriters ever to walk the face of the Earth,” Trump said, noting that “billions and billions of people have watched them over the years.”The honorees, who were approved by Trump, embodied the pop culture of the 1980s: the glam rock band known for their painted faces and pyrotechnic spectacle; the diva behind the disco anthem “I Will Survive”; the action megastar who portrayed Rocky and Rambo; the country hitmaker with a signature cowboy flair; and the original Phantom in “The Phantom of the Opera.”Story continues below this adOn the red carpet before the event, Gene Simmons of Kiss, wearing shoes made of python skin, applauded the president’s decision to host the program. He attended the gala with his bandmates Paul Stanley and Peter Criss. The band’s original lead guitarist, Ace Frehley, died in October.“Whether you’re a fan of the president or not, he’s never boring,” Simmons said, noting that he had known Trump for more than two decades. “The worst thing is to have some bloated person get up there and make long speeches. No matter what he does, this president’s going to be entertaining.”Trump boycotted the honors entirely in his first term amid pushback from several artists who were being honored. But since he regained office, he has ensured a friendlier reception at the prestigious arts venue.He purged Democrats from the institution’s traditionally bipartisan board of directors, installed himself as chair and replaced the center’s longtime president with a loyalist. He personally screened the honorees of what is the venue’s marquee event, saying in August that he had rejected some candidates whom he characterized as “wokesters.”Story continues below this adThe program, which is being taped for broadcast on CBS on Dec. 23, has historically been a tightly scripted affair that embraces a spirit of setting aside politics to celebrate the arts. Trump’s predecessors in hosting the event include Walter Cronkite, Caroline Kennedy, Stephen Colbert, Glenn Close and Queen Latifah.On Sunday night, Trump did not steer clear of politics — he hailed his signature policy bill that he signed into law in July — and he did not appear to stay on script.“If there is one thread that connects all of these amazing artists together, it is the word ‘persistence,’” Trump said in his opening remarks. “I can say that with a lot of the members of our audience — I know so many of you, and you are persistent. Many of you are miserable, horrible people. But you are persistent, you never give up. Sometimes I wish you’d give up, but you don’t.”In August, when Trump announced his intention to host the show, he said he had been asked to take on the job because he would get “much higher ratings.”Story continues below this adBefore taking the stage Sunday, Trump spent more than 20 minutes on the red carpet, which was laid out in the center’s Hall of Nations, posing for photos with Melania Trump, the first lady, and answering questions from reporters assembled behind a rope line.“I didn’t really prepare very much,” Trump said of the hosting job. “I read a little bit. I have a good memory.”When he was not onstage, Trump sat in the presidential box with the honorees, watching as actors and musicians paid tribute to them. Actor Kurt Russell took the stage to extol Stallone, and actor Kelsey Grammer lauded Crawford, before a rendition of music from “The Phantom of the Opera.”Paying homage to Strait were singer Miranda Lambert and the country duo Brooks & Dunn, who performed Strait’s “Amarillo by Morning.” Underneath a glimmering disco ball, singer Deniece Williams honored Gaynor, and country singer Garth Brooks introduced a celebration of Kiss that featured the band Cheap Trick. (“I see some faces of confusion,” Brooks acknowledged from the stage, assuring the audience that he was there for the correct honoree.)Story continues below this ad“You take the stage in front of people you don’t know. You bare your soul not knowing what you’re going to get back. That takes courage, people,” Brooks said. “Now try that in 6-inch platform shoes.”Trump’s presence was never long forgotten. He returned to the stage midway through the program for a tight five minutes — jokingly referring to the “Trump Kennedy Center” — and segments throughout the program were introduced by video remarks that the president had prerecorded.Assembled in the audience were members of Trump’s Cabinet, Kennedy Center donors and board members, corporate executives, Washington aides and a number of celebrities, including Fox News host Bret Baier and Mehmet Oz, a former TV doctor who is now administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.This year’s honors, the 48th staging of the annual event, are the first to be held during a period of major upheaval at the Kennedy Center. Dozens of staff members have been fired or have quit since the Trump administration took over the center, and ticket sales have fallen since the takeover, according to internal sales figures reviewed by The New York Times.Its president, Richard Grenell, who was ambassador to Germany in Trump’s first term, has vowed to rid the institution of “woke propaganda.” Trump has taken a special interest in renovating the building, securing $257 million for repairs in a government spending bill.One of the most visible changes is the redesign of the Kennedy Center Honors medallion. The center ditched the traditional rainbow ribbon design that debuted at the first ceremony in 1978, which honored Fred Astaire, George Balanchine and others. The new medallion, designed by Tiffany & Co., is held by a navy blue ribbon and includes a much more subtle rainbow motif on the medal itself.The honorees arrived in Washington to a typical weekend of fanfare — though with an enhanced role for the president, who delivered remarks at the customary State Department dinner Saturday.Most ReadIn a speech that touched on immigration enforcement, White House Christmas decorations and the Kennedy Center’s marble (“big beautiful slabs — you don’t get ’em like that anymore”), Trump commended the “cultural heritage” created by the honorees.Crawford, whose performance as the Phantom Trump has cited as among his favorites, kept the event’s simmering politics at arms length Sunday.“I’m nonpolitical,” he told reporters on the red carpet, “and so I’ve just been invited to be here, and I’m here.”AdvertisementAdvertisementLoading Taboola...