President Donald Trump will become the first president to host the annual Kennedy Center Honors, and he’ll be honoring celebrities including Sylvester Stallone, Kiss, and Gloria Gaynor.
Trump confirmed that he would be hosting the show at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Sunday (Dec. 7) at the 48th Kennedy Center Honors Medallion Reception the day prior. The president had previously mentioned the hosting decision back in August.
With the show set to broadcast on both CBS and Paramount+ on Dec. 23, Trump predicted that the broadcast would have its best ratings ever with him at the forefront.
“It’s going to be something that I believe, and I’m going to make a prediction: This will be the highest-rated show that they’ve ever done and they’ve gotten some pretty good ratings, but there’s nothing like what’s going to happen,” said Trump.
Trump is set to honor not just actor Stallone, rock band Kiss, and singer Gaynor for their influence on American culture; he’s also giving singer George Strait and actor Michael Crawford (who originated the titular role in one of Trump's favorites, The Phantom of the Opera) their flowers).
Trump is assuming the role that’s previously been occupied by others, including his nemesis Stephen Colbert. We say “nemesis” because Trump celebrated that Colbert's show was ending back in July.
On July 17 when CBS announced that the show was ending in a decision that was “purely financial” amid a challenging backdrop in late night,” Trump responded on Truth Social, essentially gloating.
"I absolutely love that Colbert got fired," he wrote. "His talent was even less than his ratings. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert! Greg Gutfeld is better than all of them combined, including the Moron on NBC who ruined the once great Tonight Show."