President Trump Wants More Say in Kennedy Center Honorees
The president had recently made himself Kennedy Center's chairman earlier this year.
By: Emmy Rice Mar. 16, 2025
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Each year, the Kennedy Center hosts a televised gala, recognizing a small group of honorees for lifetime artistic achievement. Many celebrities have earned the honor in the event's 47 years, with no previous objections from the White House about who the honorees were... until now.
President Trump made himself the chairman of the Kennedy Center back in Feburary of this year. Soon after, he replaced all of Biden's nominees for the center's board and installed Richard Grenell as its president.
Now he is scheduled to speak in a board meeting for the Kennedy Center on Monday to discuss changes to the honoree selection process, according to the New York Times. The resolution to be discussed at this meeting would give Trump the ability to hire or fire those who decide who the honorees are.
The 2024 Kennedy Center Honorees included director and filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola; legendary American rock band the Grateful Dead; blues rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Bonnie Raitt; jazz trumpeter, pianist, and composer Arturo Sandoval; and The Apollo, which received a special Honor as an iconic American institution.
Learn more about the latest at the Kennedy Center here.
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