Prominent figures from the music and film industries will be acknowledged Sunday evening at the 48th yearly Kennedy Center Honors, though it will be President Donald Trump who is central as he hosts the institution’s awards event.
The president in August unveiled the recipients and declared he would host the presentation, as he pursues an involved approach to restructuring programming and drafting blueprints for renovating the facility.
Trump, who bypassed the honors during his initial term, mentioned he was “98% engaged” in selecting the center’s subsequent collection of awardees, personally declining some he deemed excessively “woke.”
The president keeps publicly asserting that people might begin calling the performing arts center the “Trump Kennedy Center,” a jest he reiterated at this week’s FIFA World Cup drawing held at the Washington, DC, venue.
This year’s honorees comprise songwriter George Strait, performers Michael Crawford and Sylvester Stallone, vocalist Gloria Gaynor, and the rock group KISS.
The program will be broadcast December 23 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount.
Prior to the main occasion, Trump bestowed the honorees with their medals Saturday evening in the Oval Office, characterizing them as “the most accomplished and noted group of Kennedy Center honorees ever brought together.”
Record-setting country artist George Strait grew up in a modest town south of San Antonio, Texas, and attained prominence with his 1981 album “Strait Country.” Strait has sold over 120 million records globally, and in 2006, he was listed in the Country Music Hall of Fame. Strait previously held the record for the biggest ticketed show in US history when he performed at Kyle Field at Texas A&M in College Station, Texas, in 2024.
English actor and Broadway veteran Michael Crawford is most recognized for his lead portrayal in Andrew Lloyd Weber’s “The Phantom of the Opera,” one of Trump’s preferred musicals. Before his Broadway run, which secured him a Tony Award for best performer in 1988, Crawford depicted the 19th-century showman, businessman, and ringmaster P.T. Barnum in the 1986 picture “Barnum.”
Actor Sylvester Stallone is frequently remembered for his appearance in the “Rocky” sequence, wherein he played underdog boxer Rocky Balboa, but in recent years, Stallone’s starring part has been more political. In January, Trump named Stallone one of three “Special Ambassadors” to Hollywood. Stallone supported Trump late in the 2024 election and introduced the president at the America First Policy Institute Gala last year, referring to Trump as “the second George Washington” and “a truly mythical figure.”
Gloria Gaynor’s popular songs “I Will Survive” and “The Eye of the Tiger” have solidified her status as the queen of disco. In March 2016, Gaynor’s recording of “I Will Survive” was entered into the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry. Gaynor seems to be an active GOP contributor who has given to several Republican aspirants since 2016 under her birth name “Gloria Fowles,” according to FEC filings.
American glam rock band KISS, whose hits include “Rock and Roll All Nite” and “I Was Made for Lovin’ You,” was established in 1973 by vocalist-guitarist Paul Stanley and tongue-wagging bassist Gene Simmons. Their dramatic stage displays with fire and artificial blood spraying from the mouths of band members clad in protective gear, elevated footwear, wigs, and signature black-and-white makeup earned them a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1999. Ace Frehley, KISS’ original lead guitarist, passed away in October. Monique Frehley, the guitarist’s daughter, accepted her late father’s medal throughout Trump’s Oval Office awards presentation Saturday.
About the Author
