UPDATED: Donald Trump opened his speech in much the same way as previous presenters, running through the list of honorees with words of praise and joking with an audience of mostly cabinet ministers and supporters.
“They say this is the first time the President of the United States has hosted a conference. Kennedy Center Honors– Trump said on stage, -… I don’t know why. I'm going to try to act like Johnny Carson. I miss Johnny.”
Trump reviewed the list of honorees and named figures such as House Speaker Mike Johnson and Kennedy Center President Ric Grenell, but it is unclear how much of Trump's 12-minute commencement speeches will make it into the final broadcast on CBS later this month.
He made some jokes – a la Don Rickles.
“If there is one thread that unites all of these amazing artists, it is the word perseverance,” Trump said. “I can say this about many of our audience members. I know so many of you. You are persistent. Many of you are miserable, terrible people. You are persistent. You never give up. Sometimes I wish you would give up, but you don't give up.”
Later, after intermission, Trump reappeared on stage, continuing to boast about the Kennedy Center under his watch—”the greatest night in the history of the Kennedy Center”—while adding a few more jokes. “I mean, the Trump-Kennedy Center…” the president said, alluding to his past, suggesting he would name the facility after himself. “Sorry, this is really awkward.”
He predicted bad reviews but very good ratings.
“Now I will say that I guarantee that fake news will bring me terrible consequences. [reviews]. “He was terrible as an MC. Don't ever let this happen again. Never let this happen. But I guarantee you one thing: we're going to get big ratings tonight.”
On the red carpet, Trump said he didn't do much preparation for his appearance as host. “I didn't prepare much. I have a good memory.”
“Maybe I wasn't prepared,” Trump said elsewhere on the red carpet. “Maybe you want to be a little free. If you look at the great hosts, Johnny Carson, Bob Hope, those are great people. If you look at the not-so-great ones like Jimmy Kimmel, he was terrible… I think you want to just be free and not have much to prepare for, really.” He was also asked if former presidents could attend the event. “I would say the last one wouldn't have worked too well,” Trump said, adding, “John F. Kennedy would have basically done a very good job.”
The ceremony began with honoring the laureate. Sylvester Stallonewhere Arturo Sandoval and Bill Conti offer a rendition of Rocky Conti's theme. Kurt Russell then spoke about the actor being one of Trump's “ambassadors to Hollywood.” Others honoring Stallone included his brother Frank, as well as Neal McDonough and Garrett Hedlund.
After opening remarks and opening remarks, Trump returned to the presidential box, where he sat with Stallone and fellow honorees Michael Crawford, KISS, Gloria Gaynor and George Strait.
Some of Trump's remarks were pre-taped from his desk in the Oval Office, where he introduced segments for some of the honorees. He called Crawford “truly one of the greatest talents I've ever seen on stage.” Of Straight, he said: “George never chased the spotlight. The spotlight was following him.” Kelsey Grammer and Laura Osnes were among those who appeared in tribute to Crawford; Vince Gill and Miranda Lambert performed during Strait's performance.
Since CBS had the rights to the ceremony, such figures as Paramount CEO David Ellison, president Jeff Schell, television media chairman George Cheeks and chief legal officer Makan Delrahim were expected to attend.
This is the last year that CBS has rights to the ceremony. Grenell told Deadline that negotiations for a new contract haven't officially begun, but “I can tell you that we've had about four different outlets, corporations, approach us to say, 'We'd like to have this honor.' CBS told me, “We're not losing it, so it's not like that.” I said, “Well, it's okay. We need to negotiate and get a better deal.”
More to come.
