Video: Trump Jokes About Nominating Himself for Kennedy Center Honor

President Donald Trump has done many unprecedented things while president, and Sunday was not different. Trump hosted the 48th Kennedy Center Honors ceremony Sunday night in Washington, D.C. The commander in chief felt…

Sandra RhodesDec 8, 20253 min read

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The president then slipped into the role of host seamlessly.

“Welcome to a very special evening — it’s one of the most important evenings in the American cultural realm,” Trump said as he opened the ceremony, per The Hill.

“This is the first time that a president of the United States has ever hosted this phenomenal event,” Trump said.

“I’m going to try to act like Johnny Carson,” Trump said.

The honorees included members of the band KISS, country music singer George Strait, “disco queen” Gloria Gaynor, actor and director Sylvester Stallone and Broadway star Michael Crawford.

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Earlier this year, Trump overhauled the center named for the 35th president. He said it was being too “woke” and removed several bipartisan members of its board.

He also made himself chairman.

Trump never attended the Kennedy Center Honors during his first term in office.

Several guests commented on how Trump would do as host.

“He’s going to be fine. He’s usually kind of prepared if a little off the cuff. He usually knows what he’s doing,” said former “Frasier” star Kelsey Grammer. “He’s got a great ability to just keep talking. It amazes me. It’s exhausting,” Grammar added with a smile.

“Imagine the president of the United States being the emcee,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said.

“The president’s going to have fun,” Lutnick said.

At the end of the ceremony, Trump praised the show as the “greatest evening in the history,” but stated the media would not take kindly to his turn as host.

“I guarantee the fake news is going to give me ‘horrible — he was horrible as emcee,’” Trump said.

Trump also took the opportunity to take a jab at did take a knock at former PresidentJoe Biden.

“They tried getting to do this, four years in a row they tried getting him ”

“He said, ‘I don’t think so.’ It would’ve been very interesting. I would’ve watched,” Trump said.

As he closed the show, Trump said, “God bless the Kennedy Center and God bless the United States of America.”

The event will air on CBS and Paramount+ on Dec. 23.