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Trump Presents the Kennedy Center Honors Medallions in the Oval Office, Dec. 6, 2025

December 6, 2025 · The White House · 0:10:02

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

What happened

President Donald Trump welcomed the 2025 Kennedy Center honorees to the Oval Office on December 6, 2025, to present their Honors medallions ahead of the weekend’s ceremonies. “As president of the United States and the chairman of the board of the Kennedy Center, it’s a privilege to pay tribute to the very best in American arts and culture,” he said. “This is perhaps the most accomplished and renowned class of Kennedy Center honores ever assembled.”

He introduced each honoree in turn: country legend George Strait; Broadway star Michael Crawford; “the disco queen” Gloria Gaynor; “one of the true great movie stars,” Sylvester Stallone; and the members of KISS — Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, and Peter Criss, with the late Ace Frehley’s daughter accepting his honor. The President noted the medallions “were redesigned this year with the help of the fantastic team at Tiffany and Company,” thanked Executive Director Rick Grenell and Ambassador Sergio Gor, who were present, and pointed to the Kennedy Center’s renovation: “We’re bringing it back to a level that I don’t think any place in the country will see.”

Why it matters

The Oval Office presentation opens Honors weekend and states the President’s cultural brief in his own frame: the honoree class, the redesigned medallions, and the renovation of the building he now chairs. This chronicle files it on the Elections & Governance hub with every characterization attributed to the President.

Sources: The White House, “President Trump Participates in a Kennedy Center Honors Medal Presentation,” The White House, December 6, 2025 (official upload, embedded above). All characterizations as stated by the President at the presentation.