President Donald Trump was the first sitting president to host the annual celebration recognizing lifetime achievements in the performing arts, which was held at the John F Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts, with First Lady Melania Trump on November 7, 2025.
Before the ceremony, Trump presented medals to the honorees, which included glam-metal icons KISS, actor Michael Crawford, country legend George Strait, film star Sylvester Stallone, and disco icon Gloria Gaynor. As the event, which was held at the Oval Office, was graced by several outlets, Trump stumbled over his words again.
When introducing Stallone, Trump praised him as “a friend… a wonderful, spectacular person, one of the greatest movie stars,” but then mispronounced his name as “Sylvester ‘Sly’ Sallone,” dropping the “t” in Stallone’s surname.
According to The Daily Beast, Sylvester Stallone publicly endorsed Donald Trump in November 2024 after Trump’s election victory, calling the president a “mythical character” and acknowledging his political success as he ran for another term.
Donald Trump appeared to mispronounce Sylvester Stallone’s name while awarding him a medal as a Kennedy Center honouree on Saturday, 6 December. pic.twitter.com/dcNNL4F3UX
— The Independent (@Independent) December 8, 2025
“We are in the presence of a really mythical character,” Stallone said of Trump at the time. “I love mythology, and this individual does not exist on this planet. Nobody in the world could pull off what he pulled off,” the actor claimed. Stallone and Michael Crawford are among Trump’s chosen honorees for the 2025 Kennedy Center event.
Sylvester Gardenzio “Sly” Stallone has a stellar career spanning over fifty years and has also won several awards, like Golden Globes, BAFTA and more. His notable films include “Cliffhanger”, “The Expendables” and its sequels, “Assassins”, “Lockup”, “Sly” and Armor”. Sunday’s ceremony will be filmed and broadcast later in December as the Christmas spirit seems to gather around the nation.
Stallone had also been celebrated the previous evening at Vice President JD Vance’s residence, where Vance spoke about how Stallone’s films resonated with families like his, which comprised stories about working-class families fighting to get ahead.
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“If I think about why my grandmother, the woman who raised me Sly, why she loved she loved your movies so much,” Vance told attendees. He claimed that his grandmother saw his films as a testament to families like them who began their journey from scratch with hope in their hearts and a bit of luck, which helped them navigate the path to the top.
Born in Appalachian Kentucky and raised in Ohio, JD Vance honored his late grandmother, Bonnie “Mamaw” Blanton Vance, who died in 2005. She was a tough lady who was deeply religious and who saw several struggles throughout her life, yet made sure to inculcate strong values in Vance and his sister.
🚨BREAKING: President Trump just revealed he prepared for the Kennedy Center Awards by SIMPLY GOING OFF MEMORY!
This is so true. No one knows more about music than Trump. He has an encyclopedic, genius mind.
Follow: @BoLoudon
pic.twitter.com/i85suzvQz0
— Bo Loudon (@BoLoudon) December 8, 2025
Bonnie Vance remains the most influential figure in Vance’s life, a “guardian angel” whose memory he cherishes even today. When he arrived at the Kennedy Center, Trump interacted with the media who questioned the 79-year-old about how he would host such a major hosting job. Trump gave credit to his sharp memory, as per The Irish Star.
These comments come as speculation about Trump’s health continues to grow, as new signs and concerns continue to surface despite claims from his administration that he is in “excellent health.”
