← Videos · Elections & Governance

Trump Visits the Kennedy Center and Announces the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors, Aug. 13, 2025

August 13, 2025 · The White House · 0:54:11

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

President Donald Trump visited the Kennedy Center in Washington on August 13, 2025, in his capacity as Chairman of the Board, to announce the artists who will be celebrated at the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors, carried on the White House channel. “I’ve been asked to host. I said, I’m the president of the United States. Are you fools asking me to do that?” he recounted. “And then Susie Wiles said to me, ‘Sir, I’ll get a host.’ I said, ‘Okay, Susie. I’ll do it.’ But I have agreed to host.”

The President then named this year’s class as the board selected it: country star George Strait — “more than 120 million records worldwide, 60 number one hits, and 33 platinum certified albums,” as he stated the figures; actor and singer Michael Crawford, the original Phantom of the Opera; actor Sylvester Stallone; singer Gloria Gaynor; and the band KISS, with Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley named from the stage. He framed the visit as part of the larger project of remaking the Center and, in the bigger picture, Washington, D.C. itself.

Why it matters

The August 13 visit is the President’s first public act as Kennedy Center chairman on the Honors itself: a sitting president hosting the ceremony, and a honoree class chosen by the board he leads — the cultural institution’s reinvention carried out on camera, five months before the December ceremony.

Scoreboard watch

This visit is a scoreboard reference point: the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors class as announced August 13, 2025 (Strait, Crawford, Stallone, Gaynor, KISS), and the President’s commitment to host the ceremony, to be checked against the event as held.

Sources: The White House, “President Trump Visits the Kennedy Center and Makes an Announcement” (official upload, embedded above; the upload’s description places the event in Washington, DC). All figures and characterizations as stated by the President at the announcement. Alternate IDs recorded: MzpjOnLA0kM (White House 0:47 hosting clip) and fAQv7qmW5Eg (White House 0:51 Honors clip).