In a dazzling event held on Saturday night, President Donald Trump took to the Oval Office to honor the recipients of the prestigious Kennedy Center awards. The honorees were graced with newly designed gold medallions, a generous donation from Tiffany & Co., just in time for the much-anticipated Sunday night program.
Amidst the elegance of the event, President Trump, dressed in a classic tuxedo, welcomed the distinguished guests who have made significant contributions to the arts. Among them were country music legend George Strait, celebrated Broadway actor Michael Crawford, disco sensation Gloria Gaynor, acclaimed actor Sylvester Stallone, and the enduring members of the iconic rock band Kiss. The presence of Kennedy Center President added a touch of official gravitas to the gathering.
As reporters awaited their turn to enter the Oval Office, the ambiance was set by a carefully curated playlist that resonated with the honorees’ legacies. Gaynor’s empowering anthem “I Will Survive” filled the Rose Garden with its uplifting melody. The tunes continued to echo memorable hits, including Kiss’s “I Was Made for Lovin’ You” and Abba’s classic “The Winner Takes It All,” providing a fitting soundtrack to the celebratory occasion.
was also present.
Gaynor’s hit “I Will Survive” played in the Rose Garden as correspondents waited for entry into the Oval Office, the White House press pool reported. Kiss’s “I Was Made for Lovin’ You” and Abba’s “The Winner Takes It All” also played on the speakers at different points.
“It’s a privilege to pay tribute to the very best in American arts and culture, and that’s what you have beside me. They are incredible people. I know most of them, and I’ve been a fan of all of them,” Trump said.
“This is a group of icons whose work and accomplishments have inspired, uplifted, and unified millions and millions of Americans. This is perhaps the most accomplished and renowned class of Kennedy Center honorees ever assembled,” Trump said.
He then bestowed the medals on each member of the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors class, in the order of Strait, Crawford, Gaynor, Stallone, and the members of Kiss: Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Peter Criss, and the late Ace Frehley, whose daughter accepted the award on his behalf.
Trump hailed Strait as the “King of Country,” Gaynor as disco’s “First Lady,” Crawford as Broadway’s “Phantom” as an ode to his performance in Phantom of the Opera, Kiss as rock and roll’s “hottest band in the world,” and Stallone as one of Hollywood’s “greatest visionaries.”
The medallions are a new design from Tiffany & Co., as the Kennedy Center moves away from what the White House called “the tacky rainbow sash design of medallions past.”
Trump noted later at the Kennedy Center Honors dinner in the Benjamin Franklin Ballroom of the State Department that he will host the Kennedy Center Honors on Sunday.
“I’ll be doing something that hasn’t been done before: the president of the United States is hosting at the request of a certain television network,” he said.
