From Sylvester Stallone to Gloria Gaynor: Donald Trump announces Kennedy Center Honors nominees and himself as host

Donald Trump, on Wednesday, announced the first group of Kennedy Center Honors nominees under his leadership as chairman of the center. The list includes country music legend George Strait, Rocky star Sylvester Stallone, singer Gloria Gaynor, rock band Kiss, and actor-singer Michael Crawford.

The POTUS also said that he would host the awards program. He further pledged to “fully renovate” the Kennedy Center’s infrastructure, aiming to make it a “crown jewel” of American arts and culture.

“We’re going to bring it to a higher level than it ever hit,” he said, noting that the venue will be featured in next year’s celebrations marking America’s 250th anniversary.

Trump avoided the Kennedy Center Honors awards program during his first term after artists said they would not attend out of protest. This year, the Republican president has taken over as the Kennedy Center’s new chairman and fired the board of trustees, which he replaced with loyalists.

Kennedy Center to be renamed?

In a Truth Social post on Tuesday, Trump teased a name change for the center, formally the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and said it would be restored to its past glory.

“GREAT Nominees for the TRUMP/KENNEDY CENTER, whoops, I mean, KENNEDY CENTER, AWARDS,” Trump wrote. He said work was being done on the site that would be “bringing it back to the absolute TOP LEVEL of luxury, glamour, and entertainment.”

“It had fallen on hard times, physically, BUT WILL SOON BE MAKING A MAJOR COMEBACK!!!” he wrote.

In a statement on its social media feed, the Kennedy Center said it was “honoured” to host Trump, who was visiting for the third time since January.

“Thanks to his advocacy, our beautiful building will undergo renovations to restore its prestige and grandeur,” the venue said.

Trump complained during a March visit that the building is in a state of “tremendous disrepair.”

How are honorees chosen?

Historically, a bipartisan advisory committee selects the recipients, who over the years have ranged from George Balanchine and Tom Hanks to Aretha Franklin and Stephen Sondheim.

In the past, Trump has floated the idea of granting Kennedy Center Honors status to singer-songwriter Paul Anka and Stallone, one of three actors Trump named as Hollywood ambassadors earlier this year. Anka was supposed to perform “My Way” at Trump’s first inaugural and backed out at the last moment.

Kennedy Center Honors

The Kennedy Center Honors were established in 1978 and have been given to a broad range of artists. Until Trump’s first term, presidents of both major political parties traditionally attended the annual ceremony, even when they disagreed politically with a given recipient.

Prominent liberals such as Barbra Streisand and Warren Beatty were honored during the administration of Republican George W. Bush, and a leading conservative, Charlton Heston, was feted during the administration of Democrat Bill Clinton.