President Trump joked that he could trade in his commander-in-chief role for a hosting role as the Kennedy Center Honors are set to air tonight with Mr. Trump as the master of ceremonies.
The honors were recorded earlier this month, and Mr. Trump hosted, even though presidents typically are just attendees.
“At the request of the Board, and just about everybody else in America, I am hosting the event. Tell me what you think of my ‘Master of Ceremony’ abilities. If really good, would you like me to leave the Presidency in order to make ‘hosting’ a full time job?” Mr. Trump wrote Tuesday on Truth Social.
“We will be honoring true GREATS in the History of Entertainment: Sylvester Stallone, Michael Crawford, KISS, George Strait, and Gloria Gaynor,” the president wrote.
The president took control over the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts earlier this year when he fired the existing board and appointed new members. The new members then elected him as the new chairman.
The new board voted unanimously last week to rename the center the Trump Kennedy Center.
“The unanimous vote recognizes that the current chairman saved the institution from financial ruin and physical destruction,” spokeswoman Roma Daravi said in a statement. “The new Trump Kennedy center reflects the unequivocal support for America’s cultural center for generations to come.”
The president said he was honored.
“The building was in such bad shape, both physically, financially, and every other way. Now it’s very solid, very strong,” Mr. Trump told reporters.
Rep. Joyce Beatty, Ohio Democrat and ex officio member of the board, said the vote was not unanimous as she was on the call, but was muted and unable to share her opinion.
“I was on that call, and as I tried to push my button to voice my concern, to ask questions, and certainly not to vote in support of this, I was muted,” she said in a video posted to X. “Each time I tried to speak, I was muted.”
On Monday, Ms. Beatty filed a lawsuit, arguing that the name change is illegal without congressional action.
“This is a flagrant violation of the rule of law, and it flies in the face of our constitutional order,” the complaint says. “Congress intended the Center to be a living memorial to President Kennedy – and a crown jewel of the arts for all Americans, irrespective of party.”
The Kennedy family has also spoken out against the name change.
“President Trump and his administration have spent the past year repressing free expression, targeting artists, journalists, and comedians, and erasing the history of Americans whose contributions made our nation better and more just,” Kerry Kennedy, the daughter of former U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, wrote on X. “President Kennedy proudly stood for justice, peace, equality, dignity, diversity, and compassion for those who suffer. President Trump stands in opposition to these values, and his name should not be placed alongside President Kennedy’s.”
Former Massachusetts congressman Joe Kennedy III, and Robert Kennedy’s grandson, said the center is “a living memorial to a fallen president and named for President Kennedy by federal law.”
“It can no sooner be renamed than can someone rename the Lincoln Memorial, no matter what anyone says,” he wrote on X.
