Trump Selects Sylvester Stallone and Kiss as Recipients of Kennedy Center Honors

      On Wednesday, President Trump revealed that the inaugural Kennedy Center Honors recipients will include Sylvester Stallone, known for his roles in Rocky and Rambo, country music icon George Strait, singer Gloria Gaynor, the rock band Kiss, and Broadway star Michael Crawford.

      This announcement followed Trump's appointment as chairman of the Kennedy Center and updates to its board, as he promised to put a stop to drag performances. He mentioned that he was “about 98% involved” in selecting those being honored and had “declined plenty” of candidates, including some he described as “too woke.”

      Last month, Republicans in Congress allocated $250 million for the center's renovations as part of a tax and spending initiative that Trump referred to as the “Big Beautiful Bill.” The legislation also offers tax reductions for the wealthy while implementing significant cuts to Medicaid and SNAP (previously known as food stamps), according to the Congressional Budget Office.

      Additionally, Republicans included a provision in the bill to rename the Kennedy Center’s Opera House in honor of Melania Trump, although this name change has yet to be realized.

      Stallone is one of Trump’s most prominent supporters from Hollywood, and the president named him one of three “ambassadors to Hollywood” along with Jon Voight and Mel Gibson earlier this year. In his remarks about Stallone's 1976 film Rocky, Trump also took a moment to commend Voight’s 1979 film, The Champ.

      Trump elaborated for over a minute on how Stallone, who wrote the script for Rocky, ultimately took on the role of the endearing Rocky Balboa, the underdog from Philadelphia who rises from obscurity to challenge heavyweight champion Apollo Creed.

      He noted that other actors of the time had the right look but lacked the physique to portray Rocky. Trump stated that executives encouraged Stallone to consider different 1970s actors for the role, but none were suitable. (Details begin around the 2:30 mark in the video above, which is also available here.)

      “He argued, ‘it can’t succeed if you choose a movie actor with a poor physique — nice face but no build’,” the president commented. “He understood what a boxer's physique should look like. So they brought in one actor, and while I won't disclose who it was, he was very well-known. But he didn't have the right build. One hit and he’d be done. Not ideal.

      “Then they presented another actor who was out of shape — decent face, but not right. They kept bringing actors in, but Stallone rejected them all. He wouldn't even accept $1 million. They had to see him to realize that he was actually perfect for the part.”

      Trump to Host Kennedy Center Honors

      Trump also announced he would host this year's Kennedy Center Honors, mentioning that he was initially reluctant but agreed after receiving an invitation.

      “GREAT Nominees for the TRUMP/KENNEDY CENTER, oops, I mean, KENNEDY CENTER, AWARDS,” he posted on Truth Social, committing to restore the site to what he described as “the absolute TOP LEVEL of luxury, glamour, and entertainment.”

      “It had seen better days, physically, BUT WILL SOON BE MAKING A MAJOR COMEBACK!!!” he stated.

      Traditionally, the Kennedy Center Honors are selected by a bipartisan advisory committee, as noted by The Associated Press. Previous honorees have included George Balanchine, Tom Hanks, Aretha Franklin, and Stephen Sondheim.

      In 2017, during Trump’s first administration, honoree Norman Lear declared he would not attend a White House celebration to protest the proposed cuts to federal arts funding.

      Trump and First Lady Melania Trump subsequently did not attend the Kennedy Center event and did not return during the remainder of Trump’s first term, a period in which critics like Cher, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Sally Field were honored, according to the Associated Press.

      Main image: Donald Trump announces the Kennedy Center honorees. The Hill.