President Trump teased this 12 months’s Kennedy Middle honorees on Tuesday, saying the recipients can be named on Wednesday whereas drawing consideration to his ongoing energy seize over artwork.
“GREAT Nominees for the TRUMP/KENNEDY CENTER, whoops, I mean, KENNEDY CENTER, AWARDS,” he posted on Reality Social. “They will be announced Wednesday.”
Conceived in 1958 underneath President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the John F. Kennedy Middle for the Performing Arts got here to life throughout the Nineteen Sixties and was designated by Congress as a dwelling memorial to the slain president earlier than it opened in 1971.
The Kennedy Middle Honors are among the many nation’s highest awards in inventive achievement and rely such luminaries as Steven Spielberg, Gladys Knight, Garth Brooks, Francis Ford Coppola, Dick Van Dyke and dozens of different family names among the many recipients.
However none of that has stopped Trump from throwing some shade, even supposing he didn’t attend a single ceremony throughout his first time period.
“Tremendous work is being done, and money being spent, on bringing it back to the absolute TOP LEVEL of luxury, glamour, and entertainment,” Trump continued. “It had fallen on hard times, physically, BUT WILL SOON BE MAKING A MAJOR COMEBACK!!!”
Since taking workplace, Trump has proven as a lot respect to the historic establishment as he has to the U.S. Structure. Mere weeks after being sworn in, he ousted most Board of Trustee members on grounds that the middle’s programming was too “woke” and put in individuals loyal to him, who promptly named him chairman in a unanimous vote.
Many artists have fled or canceled exhibits in response, together with actress Issa Rae, musician Rhiannon Giddens and the Broadway present “Hamilton,” which scotched its whole run. The president and First Woman Melania Trump have been largely booed on the Kennedy Middle’s opening evening of “Les Miserables” in June.
Whereas some staffers advised NPR they have been blindsided by Trump’s abrupt announcement and fearful about having sufficient time to promote tickets and sponsorships, the middle’s management stated they have been on board.
“Thanks to his advocacy, our beautiful building will undergo renovations to restore its prestige and grandeur,” the middle stated on X, taking a web page from Trump’s all-caps playbook so as to add, “We are also excited to be announcing this year’s INCREDIBLE slate of Kennedy Center Honorees.”
Initially Revealed: August 12, 2025 at 6:19 PM EDT
