CBS aired the 48th Annual John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Honors awards on Tuesday as President Donald Trump celebrated this year’s slate, including country star George Strait, rock band KISS, disco pioneer Gloria Gaynor, and actors Michael Crawford and Sylvester Stallone.
“For nearly half a century, this tradition has celebrated those whose voices and visions tell our nation’s story and share it with the world. This year’s Honorees have left an indelible mark on our history, reminding us that the arts are for everyone,” said Ambassador Richard Grenell, Kennedy Center President in a statement ahead of the awards.
President Trump opened his remarks touting the return of the center to prominence.
“A very big hello and welcome to a very special evening, and one of the most important evenings in the American cultural realm,” Trump said from the stage. “This is something going to be very special, and the Kennedy Center is very special and we’re bringing this building back to life like nobody ever thought was even possible.”
He also joked that some of the people in the audience he really loves and some he “really hates.”
In another segment, he joked about renaming the Center after himself.
The honorees were all thrilled to be a part of the event, though.
Country legend George Strait called the event “amazing” and said that he never thought as he was rising up in the music business that one day he would be honored at the Kennedy Center.
Disco music pioneer Gloria Gaynor similarly said that she never would have dreamed that she would be standing in the Kennedy Center and being honored like this.
Famed stage actor Michael Crawford insisted that the event was “mind blowing.”
For his part, Sylvester Stallone said that being awarded a Kennedy Center honor is “the ultimate” honor.
KISS front man Gene Simmons said that he and the band are “eternally grateful” to be recognized for a Kennedy Honor.
Kiss drummer Peter Criss spoke about band mate Ace Grehley who recently passed away, and said, “Ace Frehley, as you know, passed away not long ago. He was a major part of this band. And so tonight I got to sit next to his chair, and I broke down quite a few times.”
Guitarist Paul Stanley added, “Most of us came from nothing. My mother came from Germany, fled the Holocaust. You see the American flag, you see the Statue of Liberty, and you realize all things are possible.”
Stanley added, “We are products of the American dream. There are opportunities, and they’re not always the same for everybody, but you’re willing to work hard and find out how much something matters to you by how much you’re willing to work to get it.”
The night wasn’t without some controversy, though, as CBS cut out much of the president’s monologue during the airing of the event, slashing the president’s remarks from 12 minutes down to a mere two minutes.
During the event, President Trump honored the awardees, but afterward he also took a minute to jab at no-talent late-night host Stephen Colbert, who’s low-rated show will be coming to an end next year. Trump, though, suggested that CBS should cancel Colbert’s show now and not wait until May.
“Stephen Colbert is a pathetic trainwreck, with no talent or anything else necessary for show business success,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Now, after being terminated by CBS, but left out to dry, he has actually gotten worse, along with his nonexistent ratings. Stephen is running on hatred and fumes ~ A dead man walking! CBS should, ‘put him to sleep,’ NOW, it is the humanitarian thing to do.”
In another post he blasted all the failed late-night comedy shows, writing, “Who has the worst Late Night host, CBS, ABC, or NBC??? They all have three things in common: High Salaries, No Talent, REALLY LOW RATINGS!”
Before the night’s events, Trump also joked on Truth Social that he just might quit the presidency to make emceeing stage events his full-time job.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: Facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston, Truth Social @WarnerToddHuston, or at X/Twitter @WTHuston
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