A tuxedo-wearing President Trump hosted Sunday evening’s feted 48th Kennedy Center Honors ceremony — marking the first time a sitting president has led one of the glitziest nights of the year in DC.
Trump, 79, who once dreamed of being a theater producer, honored the likes of Sylvester Stallone, Kiss, and Gloria Gaynor at the star-studded event, capping off a year of big changes at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
“This place is hot,” the president/emcee told the audience from the stage after touring renovations he ordered at the renowned center. “The Trump-Kennedy Center,” he told the crowd before pausing for some laughter.
“I mean, the Kennedy Center. I’m sorry. This is terribly embarrassing,” Trump joked.
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Ahead of the event, the commander in chief and First Lady Melania Trump walked onto the red carpet and stopped for roughly 20 minutes to take questions from reporters.
“I hosted the Apprentice when it was Number One and had an audience of 42.5 million,” Trump said when asked about the ratings he expected for the night. “They’ll be good. It will do very good.”
The president also admitted that he hadn’t prepared much to host the star-studded ceremony.
“I didn’t prepare a lot. I have a good memory.” He added, “You have to be yourself. Johnny Carson was always himself.”
After an intermission, guests took their seats, and Trump took the stage to deliver a speech and introduce the “incredible artists” of the night.
“This is fantastic, isn’t it? It is just so incredible. This is the greatest evening in the history of the Kennedy Center. Not even a contest. There has never been anything like it,” he said. “The show is already getting rave reviews.”
Trump had named himself chair of the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees and quickly purged all of former President Joe Biden’s appointees.
The president argued that a major overhaul was required because of a prior decision to allow drag show performances at DC’s marquee cultural venue, among other concerns.
“Kennedy Center is in tremendous disrepair, as is a lot of the rest of our country, most of it because of bad management,” Trump vented to reporters in March after personally inspecting the venerated cultural center.
“This is a shame, what I’ve watched and witnessed.”
On Saturday, he crowed that it would be the first time that a sitting president has hosted the awards. He said he’ll be criticized no matter what he does — but he’s confident he’ll be a better host than Jimmy Kimmel.
“If I can’t beat out Jimmy Kimmel in terms of talent, then I don’t think I should be president,” Trump joked.
Kimmel previously hosted the Academy Awards, and has been a frequent critic of the president.
It’s unclear how involved Trump was with the process of selecting the honorees, but Stallone is a close ally and is serving as Trump’s ambassador to Hollywood.
“He’s a great guy. He’s done a fantastic job and he really deserves this honor. You know, it’s something he’s wanted for years and this is bigger than it’s ever been,” Trump said on the red carpet Sunday.
Stallone was honored for becoming a cultural icon with movies such as “Rocky” and “Rambo,” while Gaynor was celebrated for “I Will Survive” and Kiss for its flamboyant makeup and performances.
The 48th Kennedy Center Honors ceremony comes on the heels of the death of Kiss’ original lead guitarist Ace Frehley, who died in October from injuries after he fell.
British actor Michael Crawford and country music superstar George Strait were also celebrated at the feted event.
“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,” Trump teased on Saturday.
The president honored the acclaimed performers during a brief ceremony in the Oval Office on Saturday, the eve of the ritzy dinner.
