Trump presented Kennedy Center medals to artists: Kiss and Stallone among those honored

US President Donald Trump presented Kennedy Center medals to a number of prominent artists for their outstanding contributions to the performing arts. Newsweek writes about this, reports UNN.

Details

President Donald Trump presented medals to the 2025 Kennedy Center honorees during a Saturday ceremony in the Oval Office, calling the group “perhaps the most accomplished and celebrated class” ever assembled

The awards went to the band Kiss, actor Sylvester Stallone, and singer Gloria Gaynor, author of the hit I Will Survive. British actor Michael Crawford and country singer George Strait also became laureates.

It is reported that in early February, Trump fired the president and chairman of the board of the Kennedy Center, replacing most of the board with political loyalists, who then elected him as the new head of the center.

The previous president, Deborah Rutter, was removed and later replaced by Ric Grenell, who served as acting director of national intelligence during Trump's first term.

The president's direct involvement in selecting the laureates and moving the awards ceremony to the White House breaks a long-standing tradition where selection was made by a bipartisan committee and medals were presented at a dinner at the State Department

Recall

US President Donald Trump received the newly established FIFA Peace Prize during the draw for the 2026 World Cup. The award was presented personally by FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who highly praised Trump's efforts to establish peace around the world.