Overview
- President Donald Trump personally presented medals in the Oval Office to Sylvester Stallone, Kiss, Gloria Gaynor, George Strait and Michael Crawford.
- Trump has said he was about 98 percent involved in choosing this year's honorees, departing from the Honors' previously nonpartisan selection process reported by NPR and CNN.
- Since returning to office, Trump removed multiple trustees, assumed the Kennedy Center's chair and installed Richard Grenell as president of the institution.
- The White House promoted a Tiffany-designed medal as a "massive improvement," while the Kennedy Center noted the medal still features rainbow colors to represent the breadth of the arts.
- Trump is slated to moderate the Dec. 23 broadcast on CBS and Paramount+, a first for a sitting president at the Honors, as Stallone's use of a cane at the White House drew public attention.