Trump Hosts Kennedy Center Honors With A Mix Of Tradition, Superlatives And Don Rickles-Like Quips

UPDATED with latest: Donald Trump opened his hosting gig in much the same way as previous emcees: Running down the list of honorees with words of praise, and sprinkling in a few quips at the audience, made up largely of cabinet members and supporters.

“They say this is the first time that a president of the of the United States has ever hosted the Kennedy Center Honors,” Trump said on stage “… I don’t know why. I am going to try and act like Johnny Carson. I miss Johnny.”

Trump went through the list of honorees and called out figures like House Speaker Mike Johnson and Kennedy Center President Ric Grenell, but it was not clear how much of Trump’s 12-minute opening remarks will make it into the final broadcast on CBS later this month.

He did offer a few quips — ala Don Rickles.

“If there its one thread that connects all of these amazing artists together, it is the word persistence,” Trump said. “I can say that with a lot of members of our audience. I know so many of you. You are persistent. Many of you are miserable, horrible people. You are persistent. You never give up. Sometimes I wish you’d give up, but you don’t.”

Later, after an intermission, Trump reappeared on stage, continuing to boast about the Kennedy Center under his watch — “greatest night in the history of the Kennedy Center” — while throwing in a few more quips. “The Trump Kennedy Center, I mean…” the president said, a riff on his past suggesting that he would name the institution after himself. “I’m sorry, this is terribly embarrassing.”

He predicted bad reviews but very good ratings.

“Now, I will say that I guarantee the fake news is going to give me horrible [reviews]. ‘He was horrible as an MC. Don’t ever let that happen again. Don’t ever let it happen.’ But I guarantee you one thing, we get big ratings tonight.”

On the red carpet, Trump said that he had not prepared much for the hosting gig. “I didn’t prepare a lot. I have a good memory.”

“Maybe I haven’t prepared,” Trump said at another point on the red carpet. “Maybe you want to be a little bit loose. If you look at the great hosts, Johnny Carson, Bob Hope, those are the greats. If you look at the not so greats, like Jimmy Kimmel, he was terrible …I think you want to be just loose and not a lot to prepare for, really.” He also was asked whether any past presidents could have hosted. “I would say the last one would not have done too well,” Trump said, adding, “John F. Kennedy would have done a very good job, mostly.”

While Trump’s hosting certainly put him at the center of the ceremony, by and large he was still relatively focused on the honorees and the institution itself, with the few quips and a Joe Biden insult. No Democratic lawmakers were spotted, despite a previous bipartisan mix. There was a new producer, CAMP615, and a newly designed medal, but the ceremony itself followed the same format as previous years.

The ceremony started its honors with a tribute to honoree Sylvester Stallone, with Arturo Sandoval and Bill Conti offering a rendition of Conti’s Rocky theme. Then Kurt Russell made remarks about the actor, who is one of Trump’s “ambassadors to Hollywood.” Others honoring Stallone included his brother, Frank, as well as Blessing Offer, Neal McDonough and Garrett Hedlund. Also performing were Voices of Service featuring Ron Henry, Christal Rheams, Jason Hanna and Caleb Green.

After his opening and intermission remarks, Trump returned to the presidential box, where he was sitting with Stallone and other honorees Michael Crawford, KISS, Gloria Gaynor and George Strait.

Part of Trump’s hosting duties 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 have ever seen on stage.” Of Strait, he said, “George never chased the spotlight. The spotlight chased him.” Of Gaynor, he said, “We will always find inspiration in those three simple words, ‘I will survive.'”

Kelsey Grammer, Carrie Manolakos, David Phelps and Laura Osnes were among those appearing in the tribute to Crawford; Vince Gill, Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson and Miranda Lambert performed during Strait’s segment. Elle King. Montana Tucker and Deniece Williams were among those who were part of the Gaynor tribute, as well as Mike Faris, Jason Crabb, Chris Blue and Debbie Winans.

Trump called KISS “one of the greatest rock and roll institutions,” before a tribute that included, strangely enough, country singer Garth Brooks. “I see some faces of confusion,” he said. “No we are in the right segment of the show, people.” He then sang KISS’ Shout It Out Loud. Also appearing were Criss Angel and Marcus King. Cheap Trick performed the finale, Rock and Roll All Night, with Trump returning to stage for a brief goodbye.

With CBS having rights to the ceremony, figures such as Paramount CEO David Ellison, President Jeff Shell, TV Media Chair George Cheeks and Chief Legal Office Makan Delrahim were expected to attend.

This is the final year that CBS has rights to the ceremony. Grenell told Deadline that negotiations for a new contract has not officially begun, but “I can tell you that we have around four different outlets that have come to us, corporations to say, ‘We would like to have the honors.’ CBS has said to me, ‘We’re not losing it, so it’s not up. I said, ‘Well, it is up. We have to negotiate and we have to get a better deal.'”