President Donald Trump basked in being center stage at the Kennedy Center on Wednesday, theatrically unveiling a roster of ’80s stars for this year’s honorees as if hosting a primetime game show.
The president, ever a showman, had young women remove the coverings over the nominees’ portraits as he announced who he had picked for the prestigious awards.
This year’s nominees included some of Trump’s favorite stars, including the “King of Country,” musician and actor George Strait, 73; Phantom of the Opera actor Michael Crawford, 83; Rambo actor Sylvester Stallone, 79; I Will Survive singer Gloria Gaynor, 81; and the rock band Kiss, who are all in their 70s.
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Trump, in a meandering speech, bragged that he was tapped to host the annual event after installing himself as board chairman earlier this year.
The president complained that he was never given the honor and joked that he would give himself next year. He also touted that he, like Stallone, has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, suggesting his was bigger.
The president’s list of nominees include some of the biggest stars of the 1980s, back when Trump was just a partying businessman rubbing shoulders with the Hollywood elite, many of whom have since shunned him since he ran for office.
Strait, a country star, has sold more than 120 million records worldwide.
Michael Crawford is a Broadway star who originated the title role in The Phantom of the Opera, a Trump favorite. The president has been known to play the musical soundtrack at his rallies and claimed he was at Crawford’s Broadway debut back in 1967 before going on a tangent about how Luciano Pavarotti had a “very different voice” mid-announcement.
Stallone is an award-winning global movie star known for iconic roles including Rocky and Rambo. Trump claimed he was never given credit for his talent.
“Sly is a pillar of the American pop culture and a Hollywood superstar like few others,” Trump declared. “One of the biggest names on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In fact, the only one that’s a bigger name of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, they say, is a guy named Donald Trump. I’m on the Hollywood Walk of Fame too.”
Gaynor is a singer known for disco hits including “I will Survive” as well as “I Am What I Am” which has become a well-known gay anthem. She won the Grammy for best disco recording in 1980.
The rock band Kiss is one of the best selling bands of all time founded in Trump’s former hometown New York City. He said they would do something “very special” ahead of the annual show.
Trump said that he was “98 percent involved” in selecting the nominees.
“They all went through me,” Trump bragged.
Trump’s visit to the Kennedy Center is his third appearance there since retaking office.
Unlike other presidents, Trump never attended the Kennedy Center Honors during any of the four years of his first term in office.
But since returning to power, he has moved to associate himself with the institution.
In February, Trump announced that he was firing members of the Kennedy Center board of trustees and naming himself chairman.
The president named his close supporter Richard Grenell as president of the center and appointed other top officials as trustees, including his White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, Dan Scavino and Sergio Gor.
“Since I became chairman of the board of the Kennedy Center, we have completely reversed the decline of this cherished national institution,” Trump claimed.
He touted the more than $250 million in funding that Congress approved for the center and claimed that part of the renovation would include replacing all the seats.
“In the coming months we’ll fully renovate the dated and really the entire, the infrastructure of the building, and make the Kennedy Center a crown jewel of American arts and culture,” Trump said.
It is part of the president’s latest obsession with giving Washington, DC a makeover. During his speech at the Kennedy Center, the president continued to rant about crumbling road medians that he wants to fix, cleaning up the parks and removing graffiti.
As part of the Trump makeover already in place, large portraits of the president, first lady, vice president, and second lady also currently hang in the center.
In June, the president and First Lady Melania were in attendance for the Kennedy Center’s opening night of Les Misérables.
The Kennedy Center Honors will be held in December and will be broadcast on CBS.
