Washington — President Trump is visiting the Kennedy Center Wednesday where he’s announcing this year’s Kennedy Center honorees after working to overhaul the D.C. cultural institution in recent months.
“This is a very exciting project. We’re going to do something that will go rapidly, relatively inexpensively, and we’ll make it better than it ever was,” Mr Trump said.
“I’m delighted to be here as we officially announce the incredible talented artists who will be celebrated later this year at the 2025 Kennedy Center honors,” Mr. Trump said.
The president said he had been asked to host the 48th annual Honors this year: “I have agreed to host — do you believe what I have to do?”
The president announced the honorees, saying the board selected a “truly exceptional class” this year. Country music star George Strait was the first artist he named, followed by actor Michael Crawford.
The Kennedy Center previewed the announcement Tuesday, writing in a post on X: “A country music icon, an Englishman, a New York City Rock band, a dance Queen and a multi-billion dollar Actor walk into the Kennedy Center Opera House…”
In recent months, the president and his allies have broadened their influence over the Kennedy Center. After the White House accused the institution of being “woke” and scrutinized its finances earlier this year, Mr. Trump ousted Kennedy Center board members appointed by former President Joe Biden, replacing them with his allies. Soon afterward, the new board replaced the center’s chairman, David Rubenstein, with Mr. Trump, and Richard Grenell became the Kennedy Center’s interim president.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images 
The Kennedy Center was designated by Congress as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy in 1964.
Along with efforts to reshape the center’s governing body and performances, the president outlined during a visit to the famed opera house in March that “we’re going to make a lot of changes — including the seats, the decor — pretty much everything. It needs a lot of work.” In July, House Republicans advanced a measure that would rename the Kennedy Center’s opera house after first lady Melania Trump.
In a post on Truth Social Tuesday, Mr. Trump said work is being done to bring the Kennedy Center “back to the absolute TOP LEVEL of luxury, glamour, and entertainment.”
The president, who broke with tradition during his first term by skipping the Honors shows after several award recipients criticized him, touted the “GREAT Nominees for the TRUMP/KENNEDY CENTER, whoops, I mean, KENNEDY CENTER, AWARDS.”
The Kennedy Center Honors, a televised gala, take place annually in December. The Kennedy Center Honors ceremony is directed and produced by CBS and airs on the network.
Last year’s honorees included singer-songwriter Bonnie Raitt, filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, the Grateful Dead, composer Arturo Sandoval and the Apollo Theater.
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