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Trump and the First Lady Arrive at the Kennedy Center Honors, Dec. 7, 2025

December 7, 2025 · The White House · 0:23:28

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

What happened

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrived at the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington on December 7, 2025, and the President took questions on the red carpet before the ceremony he was set to host — the first president to host the Honors, as the question put it. “It’s very exciting being chairman, but maybe more importantly saving this incredible structure, building and concept,” he said, adding that the building would come “back to life” better “than it was from day one,” and that “we’ve raised a tremendous amount of money tonight.”

He called the 2025 honoree class — George Strait, Michael Crawford, Gloria Gaynor, Sylvester Stallone, and KISS, presented with their medallions the day before — “unparalleled” in his judgment. Asked about Netflix’s market share in a pending media deal, he said: “Netflix’s a great company and they’ve done a phenomenal job… But it’s a lot of market share. So we’ll have to see what happens.” Asked how he would host, he said: “You have to be yourself,” citing Johnny Carson as “top of the line” for hosting.

Why it matters

The arrival records the President in his second role of the weekend — Kennedy Center board chairman and first presidential host of the Honors — alongside his renovation case for the building and an on-record first reaction to a major media merger question. This chronicle files it on the Elections & Governance hub with every characterization attributed to the President.

Sources: The White House, “President Trump and the First Lady Arrive at the Kennedy Center Honors,” Washington, D.C., December 7, 2025 (official upload, embedded above). All characterizations as stated by the President on the red carpet.