Country superstar and San Antonio native George Strait was among the honorees who received Presidential Medal from President Donald Trump on Sunday.
Other recipients present at the ceremony included rock band KISS, actor Sylvester Stallone, singer Gloria Gaynor and actor-singer Michael Crawford, who originated the Phantom of the Opera role on Broadway in 1986.
“This is a group of icons whose work and accomplishments have inspired, uplifted and unified millions and millions of Americans,” Trump said. “This is perhaps the most accomplished and renowned class of Kennedy Center Honorees ever assembled.”
Songs by both Gaynor and Strait played in the Rose Garden outside the Oval Office as press filed in, according to media reports. The ceremony was held at the White House rather than the Kennedy Center, marking a presidential first, the Associated Press reports.
Largely ignoring the Kennedy Center during his first term in office, Trump’s second term has shown a marked shift where he’s undertaken a hands-on effort to eradicate what he views as “woke” programming at the center. This has included ousting board members and replacing them with MAGA loyalists, whether they have experience with the arts or not.
In turn, the new board members appointed him chairman.
During the presser about his revamped version of the premier Kennedy Center honors, Trump stated that he was 98% involved in the process of selecting this year’s honorees, the Associated Press reports.
The Kennedy Center Honors program and its series of tribute speeches and performances for each recipient is set to filmed at the Kennedy Center be broadcast Dec. 23 at 7 p.m. CT on CBS television stations and Paramount+. Trump will host the evening.
Strait was the first to receive his medal, taking his hat off for the honor, though Trump said, “If you want to leave it on, you can. I think we can get it through,” according to the Associated Press.
The medal itself is also a new design, created and donated by Tiffany and Co., featuring a gold disc etched on one side with the Kennedy Center and rainbow colors. The reverse side features the honoree’s name and the date.
“These are among the greatest artists, actors and performers of their generation. The greatest that we’ve seen,” Trump said, according to the AP. “We can hardly imagine the country music phenomena without its king of country, or American disco without its first lady, or Broadway without its phantom — and that was a phantom, let me tell you — or rock and roll without its hottest band in the world, and that’s what they are, or Hollywood without one of its greatest visionaries.”
“Each of you has made an indelible mark on American life and together you have defined entire genres and set new standards for the performing arts,” Trump added.
