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Trump hosts Kennedy Center Honors with KISS and Stallone [1]

['Ellsworth Toohey']

Date: 2025-12-08  

Donald Trump made history Sunday as the first sitting president to host the Kennedy Center Honors, transforming what's traditionally been a dignified evening of presidential box-sitting into a full-on Trump production.

As The Hill reports, Trump emceed the event honoring this year's recipients: KISS, Sylvester Stallone, Gloria Gaynor, George Strait, and Broadway's Michael Crawford. "I'm going to try to act like Johnny Carson," Trump said.

The president has been deeply involved in reshaping the ceremony since returning to office. He ousted longtime Kennedy Center president Deborah Rutter and board chair David Rubenstein in February. Staff who worked on the ceremony have resigned. And Trump personally vetted this year's honorees, rejecting some recommendations because they were "too woke."

The political dynamics are complicated. Stallone is one of Trump's Hollywood "special ambassadors" who once compared Trump to George Washington. KISS co-founder Gene Simmons praised Trump in 2016, though by 2022 he was telling Spin that Trump was "out for himself" and criticizing his encouragement of conspiracy theories and racism.

The broadcast airs December 23 on CBS, giving America a holiday gift that perfectly encapsulates this moment: a president who wanted to be the star so badly he literally took the stage.

Previously:

• New Kennedy Center leadership censors award-winning musical about a sparkle-loving shark

• Stooge claims Trump has invited the J6 Prison Choir to play the Kennedy Center

• JD Vance offers a toast as he is booed at the Kennedy Center (video)

• Man who bankrupted casino discovers arts need funding

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