President Trump Welcomes The 2025 Kennedy Center Honorees To The White House. (Photo by Aaron Schwartz/Getty Images)
Donald Trump stepped into his role as host of the Kennedy Center Honors with the same mix of ceremony and humor used by previous emcees. He moved down the list of honorees with warm words, while tossing jokes at an audience filled with cabinet members and supporters.
“They say this is the first time that a president of the of the United States has ever hosted the Kennedy Center Honors,” Trump said on stage. “… I don’t know why. I am going to try and act like Johnny Carson. I miss Johnny.”
Throughout his 12 minute opener, Trump introduced honorees and acknowledged figures like House Speaker Mike Johnson and Kennedy Center President Ric Grenell. Viewers won’t know how much will appear in the final CBS broadcast later this month, but the room reacted to his quick one liners delivered in the style of classic comedians.
“If there its one thread that connects all of these amazing artists together, it is the word persistence,” Trump said. “I can say that with a lot of members of our audience. I know so many of you. You are persistent. Many of you are miserable, horrible people. You are persistent. You never give up. Sometimes I wish you’d give up, but you don’t.”
When Trump reappeared, he kept the playful tone going. He talked about the success of the Kennedy Center under his administration, calling the evening the “greatest night in the history of the Kennedy Center,” then joking about naming the venue after himself.
“The Trump Kennedy Center, I mean…” Trump said before pretending to apologize. “I’m sorry, this is terribly embarrassing.”
He predicted sharp criticism but strong viewership.
“Now, I will say that I guarantee the fake news is going to give me horrible [reviews]. ‘He was horrible as an MC. Don’t ever let that happen again. Don’t ever let it happen.’ But I guarantee you one thing, we get big ratings tonight.”
On the red carpet, Trump said he had barely rehearsed. “I didn’t prepare a lot. I have a good memory.” He added, “Maybe I haven’t prepared. Maybe you want to be a little bit loose. If you look at the great hosts, Johnny Carson, Bob Hope, those are the greats. If you look at the not so greats, like Jimmy Kimmel, he was terrible … I think you want to be just loose and not a lot to prepare for, really.”
Asked which past presidents could have hosted, Trump replied, “I would say the last one would not have done too well,” before adding, “John F. Kennedy would have done a very good job, mostly.”
The ceremony followed its long standing format even as Trump took center stage for much of the evening. No Democratic lawmakers attended, marking a shift from past years. The show introduced a new producer, CAMP615, and a redesigned medal.
Tributes began with Sylvester Stallone, honored by performances from Arturo Sandoval and Bill Conti. Kurt Russell spoke about Stallone, one of Trump’s “ambassadors to Hollywood,” alongside contributions from Frank Stallone, Blessing Offer, Neal McDonough and Garrett Hedlund. Voices of Service also performed.
Trump later joined the presidential box with Stallone and fellow honorees Michael Crawford, KISS, Gloria Gaynor and George Strait. Parts of Trump’s hosting were taped in the Oval Office, where he called Crawford “truly one of the greatest talents I have ever seen on stage,” said of Strait that “George never chased the spotlight. The spotlight chased him,” and added of Gaynor, “We will always find inspiration in those three simple words, ‘I will survive.’”
He introduced KISS as “one of the greatest rock and roll institutions,” leading into a tribute featuring Garth Brooks, Criss Angel, Marcus King and Cheap Trick, who closed the show.
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