President Donald Trump shared that he was both “surprised” and “honored” after the Kennedy Center board voted to rename the venue “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”
During an Oval Office executive order signing rescheduling marijuana, One America News White House Correspondent Dan Baldwin asked Trump for his reaction to the addition of his name to the center shortly after the news broke.
“I was surprised by it, and I was honored by it,” Trump, who is chairman of the Kennedy Center Board, said after complimenting the board as “very distinguished.”
“We saved the building. The building was in such bad shape, both physically, financially, and every other way. And now it’s very solid, very strong,” he added.
Trump teased the forthcoming televising of the Kennedy Center Honors on December 23. The event was taped on December 7, and the show featured tributes to the honorees, which include legendary rock band KISS, Broadway legend Michael Crawford, actor Sylvester Stallone, disco singer Gloria Gaynor, and Country legend George Strait.
Breitbart News notably caught up with KISS, Crawford, and Trump on the red carpet ahead of the event.
“I think it’s going to get very big ratings,” he said of the program. “And the Kennedy Center is really, really back strongly.”
Trump also touted “record-setting” recent donations to the Trump-Kennedy Center.
Fox News reported that the Kennedy Center hauled in $23 million in donations for this year’s Kennedy Center Honors, up from $12.7 million last year when Joe Biden was president.
“According to the Kennedy Center, the $23 million total marks the largest fundraising haul in the 48-year history of the Honors, which was launched in 1978 as the institution’s highest recognition of lifetime artistic achievement,” the outlet noted.