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Trump makes Kennedy Center Honors announcement. It caught the staff off guard
President Donald Trump talks to the media in the Hall of Nations at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on March 17, 2025 in Washington, D.C.
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Chip Somodevilla
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Getty Images
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President Donald Trump's announcement on Truth Social that the 48th annual Kennedy Center Honors recipients would be announced tomorrow caught Kennedy Center staff off guard, according to a person familiar with the situation who requested anonymity because they fear professional repercussions for speaking out. They told NPR the staff is often "out of the loop" and "worried they won't have enough time to sell tickets and sponsorships."
Trump posted the announcement Tuesday morning. It said in part: "GREAT Nominees for the TRUMP/KENNEDY CENTER, whoops, I mean, KENNEDY CENTER, AWARDS," which alludes to a bill in Congress that would rename the performing arts venue after him.
Trump continued, "Tremendous work is being done, and money being spent, on bringing it back to the absolute TOP LEVEL of luxury, glamour, and entertainment."
The Kennedy Center Honors, awarded at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., have long been considered prestigious, lifetime achievement awards with the main criterion being "artistic excellence." Past honorees include Steven Spielberg, Quincy Jones, Rita Moreno, Herbie Hancock, Dick Van Dyke, Renee Fleming and Francis Ford Coppola.
While Honorees are usually living artists, Trump has floated the names Babe Ruth and Elvis Presley as possible recipients.
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President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday directing the federal government to rename Lake Ontario amid an escalating trade dispute with Canada. -
California announced a new lawsuit over President Trump’s executive order on mail-in voting. -
The measures come after President Trump imposed 50% tariffs on many Canadian goods and threatened more after trade talks broke down on Friday.
The Kennedy Center Honors has traditionally been the performing arts venue's biggest fundraiser.
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In February, Trump led an overhaul of the Kennedy Center's leadership by dismissing the previously-appointed Board of Trustees, along with longtime Kennedy Center chair David Rubenstein. Deborah Rutter, who served as president of the cultural center for over a decade, was also ousted.
Under President Trump's domestic spending agenda passed by Congress, the Kennedy Center will receive $257 million. That is six times what it normally gets from Congress annually.
Jennifer Vanasco edited this story for air and web.
Copyright 2025 NPR
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