Trump Awards 2025 Kennedy Center Honors, Calls This Year’s Class ‘Most Accomplished Ever’

President Donald Trump on Saturday presented the 2025 Kennedy Center honorees with their medals in an Oval Office ceremony, praising the five artists — Sylvester Stallone, Gloria Gaynor, George Strait, Michael Crawford and rock band Kiss — as “perhaps the most accomplished and renowned class” in the program’s history.

Calling the group “incredible people” who embody the “very best in American arts and culture,” Trump noted that he personally knew most of them and had long been a fan. “These are icons whose work has inspired, uplifted and unified millions,” he said.

Trump reshapes Kennedy Center leadership

After largely ignoring the Kennedy Center during his first term, Trump has overhauled the institution since returning to office, removing its board of trustees and replacing them with GOP allies who elected him chairman. He has also criticized the center’s programming and appearance, vowing major changes.

Each honoree received a newly designed Tiffany & Co. medal — a gold disc with rainbow accents on a navy ribbon — replacing the signature rainbow neckpiece used since 1978.

Praise for honorees — and Trump’s personal touch

George Strait was the first to receive his medal, removing his cowboy hat despite Trump’s assurance that he could keep it on. Trump hailed Crawford as a Broadway great for his role in The Phantom of the Opera, celebrated Gaynor as the “disco queen,” and lavished praise on friend Sylvester Stallone as “one of the great legends” of American film. He called Kiss an “incredible rock band.”

Music by Gaynor and Kiss played in the Rose Garden before the ceremony, while journalists waited outside the Oval Office.

Trump has openly said he was “about 98 percent involved” in selecting this year’s honorees — the first chosen under his leadership — replacing the previous bipartisan selection process.

“These are among the greatest performers of their generation,” he said. “Each of you has made an indelible mark on American life.”

Trump to attend — and possibly host — Honors gala

Trump also attended the State Department dinner for the honorees on Saturday, after moving the medal ceremony itself to the White House.

The Kennedy Center Honors gala will be taped Sunday for broadcast later this month on CBS and Paramount+. Trump, attending for the first time as president with First Lady Melania Trump, has suggested he will also host the telecast — an unprecedented move for a sitting president — predicting record ratings.

“It’s going to be something,” Trump said. “I believe this will be the highest-rated show they’ve ever done.”

The president also took a swipe at late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, with whom he has frequently sparred. “Jimmy Kimmel was horrible,” Trump said. “If I can’t beat out Jimmy Kimmel in terms of talent, then I don’t think I should be president.”