President Donald Trump has unveiled this year’s list of Kennedy Center Honors recipients, but he’s already hinting at a bold idea for next year’s lineup: putting his own name on the list.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Trump confirmed the 2025 honorees will include country icon George Strait, Broadway legend Michael Crawford, Hollywood action star Sylvester Stallone, disco queen Gloria Gaynor, and the legendary rock band KISS. The event, held annually since 1978, recognizes figures who have made significant contributions to American culture through the performing arts.
Yet during the announcement, Trump quickly shifted attention to himself, openly acknowledging that earning a Kennedy Center Honor had long been on his personal “bucket list.”
“Since 1978, the Kennedy Center Honors have been among the most prestigious awards in the performing arts. I wanted one,” Trump admitted. “I was never able to get one. I waited and waited and waited and said, the hell with it — I’ll become chairman, and I’ll give myself an honor.”
With reporters chuckling in the background, he added with a grin: “Maybe next year we’ll honor Trump, OK?”
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The remark stirred outrage online, with critics seizing on what they saw as yet another example of Trump’s self-promotion. One X (formerly Twitter) user wrote, “Trump’s persona represents the true definition of a narcissist… an extremely self-centered person who has an exaggerated sense of self-importance, an orange face, and shoe lifts.”
Another slammed the comment as desperate, saying, “Trump’s begging for arts awards now – slurring, rambling, crowning himself. This isn’t leadership. It’s a live telethon for his ego.”
A third user mocked his history of self-bestowed accolades, “No deserving person gives themself an award. It’s just empty self-validation, like all the golf trophies he ‘wins’ at his own golf clubs. Something is really wrong with him.”
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Still, not all reactions were entirely negative. One social media post offered an alternative take, “In fairness, pretty much his entire performance as President is theatrics.”
Trump also revealed that, in addition to serving as president, he has been invited to host the Kennedy Center Honors ceremony, something he said initially took him by surprise.
“I’ve been asked to host,” he recalled. “I said, ‘I’m the President of the United States. Are you folks asking me to do that?’” He credited his Chief of Staff, Susie Wiles, with convincing him: “Susie said, ‘Sir, I would like you to host.’ I said, ‘OK, I’ll do it.’”
🚨WTF: A slurring Trump just gave a bizarre, rambling address about hosting the Kennedy Center Honors – and demanded he receive a performing arts award himself. “I said, the hell with it. I’ll become chairman. And I’ll give myself an honor.”
This man is not well. pic.twitter.com/4mxMeWrtFW
— CALL TO ACTIVISM (@CalltoActivism) August 13, 2025
Trump insisted that accepting the role wasn’t his idea. “I didn’t want to do it, OK?” he said. “They’re going to say, ‘He insisted.’ I did not insist. But I think it will be quite successful.”
The Kennedy Center Honors have traditionally been viewed as a celebration of artistic achievement, and previous presidents have attended but remained largely in the background. Trump’s suggestion that he might award himself the honor next year is again a clear show of how he is obsessed with himself and thinks that an award meant for creative folks is also applicable to him.
