President Donald Trump didn't attend a single Kennedy Awards ceremony in his first term. But after assuming the role of chairman of the Kennedy Center board at the start of his second term, Trump chose the honorees for this year himself and was the host of the event.

Washington

President Trump hosted the annual Kennedy Center Honors, recognizing a distinguished group of artists, actors, and musicians for their contributions to the arts. The president praised the honorees for their persistence and resilience, referencing the iconic character Rocky Balboa as an example of overcoming setbacks.

The evening included tributes to Sylvester Stallone, Michael Crawford, George Strait, Gloria Gaynor, and the surviving members of Kiss. Performances by notable artists and emotional moments, such as the remembrance of Kiss guitarist Ace Fraley, highlighted the celebratory atmosphere. President Trump was active throughout the event, even joking about renaming the venue.

A look at Kennedy Center Honors with Trump as host

They're among the greatest artists and actors, performers, musicians, singers, and songwriters ever to walk the face of the earth. High praise from the president as he introduced this year's star-studded class of Kennedy Center honorees. The key to their success, he says, persistence. Some of them have had legendary setbacks, but in the words of Rocky Balboa, they showed us that you keep moving forward. Just keep moving forward. With Rocky is where the night's tribute started. Sylvester Stallone's Tango & Cash co-star Kurt Russell recalled watching the film's iconic fight between Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed for the first time. And then the spellbound audience, all of them, started screaming, stay up, Rocky, stay up. It was and still is the greatest audience reaction. The night moved to music with a tribute to Michael Crawford, the Tony-winning star of The Phantom of the Opera, one of President Trump's favorites. Then plenty of country stars took the stage from duo Brooks & Dunn to Miranda Lambert to honor the king of the genre himself, George Strait. As for the queen of the night and disco Gloria Gaynor, Elle King belted out the singer's iconic 70s anthem, I Will Survive. And for a grand finale, the surviving members of the glam rock band Kiss was honored with electric performances, a celebratory and emotional night for the group, whose guitarist Ace Fraley died in October. As the commander-in-chief watched from his presidential box, he didn't shy away from the spotlight in between acts and solidified his takeover of the center. Trump Kennedy Center, I mean, Kennedy Center, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

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