WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he will host this year’s Kennedy Center Honors ceremony after announcing a lineup of honorees he approved as part of his effort to remake cultural institutions he has deemed too liberal.
Trump, who installed himself as chairman of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in February, tapped country singer George Strait, action movie star Sylvester Stallone and rock band KISS for one of the highest accolades in American culture.
“I Will Survive” singer Gloria Gaynor and English stage actor Michael Crawford, who originated the lead role in musical “The Phantom of the Opera,” will also receive the honor meant for lifetime achievements in the performing arts.
Trump said he rejected some candidates he considered “too woke,” invoking a term sometimes used as a pejorative for anyone who appears politically left-leaning on race, gender and sexuality.
Since returning to power in January, Trump has weighed in on issues big and small as he seeks to put his stamp on American culture and institutions to align them closer with his preferences.
The Republican president, a former reality television star, said he reluctantly agreed to host the Kennedy Center Honors, which will air on CBS on December 7.
“I didn’t want to do it. OK?” Trump said. “They’re going to say, ‘he insisted.’ I did not insist. But I think it will be quite successful.”
In the past, honorees were approved by an executive committee of the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees, and in recent years the ceremony was hosted by an actor or comedian.
Previous recipients have included Meryl Streep, Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey and Elton John.
Stallone, the star of the “Rocky” boxing classic movie series and a three-time Oscar nominee, supported Trump’s campaign for president and called him “the second George Washington.” Trump appointed Stallone as one of three “special ambassadors” to Hollywood in January.
The president also touted a renovation of the Kennedy Center, saying it was part of his effort to improve the nation’s capital by taking over the police force and redoing Washington, D.C.’s roads and parks.
Trump, a real estate investor who has also undertaken renovations at the White House, noted the marble walls and columns of the Kennedy Center grand foyer – where he unveiled this year’s honorees – and lauded what he called the good “bones” of the arts center.
“With a little fix up and other work we can make it unbelievable,” he said. “These columns – when you see them the next time, they’ll be magnificent.”
No details were immediately available about the work planned, but Trump said it would involve replacing all the seats in the venue’s performance spaces, tapping more than $200 million in funds approved by Congress.
Trump did not attend events at the Kennedy Center during his first term but has taken a keen interest in it during his second, vowing to overhaul an institution he and his supporters view as too liberal.
Trump in February appointed his former ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, to lead the institution.
In June, Trump visited the Kennedy Center for a performance of “Les Miserables,” where he and his wife were met with boos and cheers.
Republican Representative Bob Onder in July introduced a bill that would rename the modernist building the Donald J. Trump Center for the Performing Arts.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal;Additional reporting by Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles;Editing by Colleen Jenkins, Rod Nickel and Alistair Bell)
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