Not only did Donald Trump change the name of the Kennedy Center to add his own name, after pushing out most of the institution’s board and replacing them with his own allies, but the president insisted on hosting the annual Kennedy Center Honors himself.
The annual honors took place earlier this month, on December 7, before Trump announced the name change, so when they aired on CBS, the institution was still called the Kennedy Center, and the new lettering on the walls was not visible on the broadcast. And that wasn’t the only thing that changed when the ceremony was broadcast on Tuesday. The show happened to air on the same network as 60 Minutes, which drew fire two days earlier for spiking a report critical of Trump at the last minute.
According to The Daily Beast, the network “sharply edited” Trump’s opening monologue, while also keeping the original “Kennedy Center” branding in place.
It’s just the “Kennedy Center,” not the “Trump Kennedy Center,” on tonight’s CBS telecast of the Kennedy Center Honors, in part because the board didn’t vote to change the name until after the show was taped. pic.twitter.com/1lwMLtYOen
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) December 24, 2025
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“The televised broadcast presented a pared version of Trump’s opening remarks, cutting his introduction from about 12 minutes live to two minutes for viewers at home — and leaving out several of his looser jokes, including a reference to the laughing audience as ‘miserable, horrible people,” The Washington Post reported. The newspaper added that CBS’ standards department had issued a guidance to use the original branding, and not call the awards the “Trump Kennedy Center Honors.”
“On Tuesday, CBS will broadcast the annual Kennedy Centers Honors,” Jack Renaud, senior director of standards and practices, wrote in the memo, as obtained by the Post.
“Yesterday, the newly appointed board of the Kennedy Center voted to change the facility’s name to the Trump-Kennedy Center… But it would take Congressional approval to officially change the name.”
The same night, Trump took to Truth Social and demanded the immediate firing of CBS’ late night host Stephen Colbert:
On the same night he hosted the Kennedy Center Honors on CBS, Trump publicly urges the network to end late-night host Stephen Colbert’s show immediately, rather than in May pic.twitter.com/2aT7hLgEzk
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) December 24, 2025
The Kennedy Center Honors this year recognized the band KISS, singers Gloria Gaynor, George Strait and Michael Crawford, and actor Sylvester Stallone.
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.
