Guests arriving at Sunday night’s Kennedy Center Honors ceremony were greeted by signs of President Donald Trump’s efforts to overhaul the arts complex.
Some changes were minor, like newly displayed portraits of Kennedy Center board members Melania Trump, Usha Vance and President Trump, who serves as the board’s chair. Other changes, like the decision to paint the center’s distinctive gold-colored pillars white or reimagining the Kennedy Center programming schedule, are more transformative.
But guests, honorees and officials alike praised the changes to the organization.
Musician Gene Simmons, who’s set to be honored as a member of the band KISS, told reporters on the red carpet the improvements were “long overdue.”
“Especially since not a single cent of American taxpayer dollars [is] going to the improvements here — shut the f**k up!” Simmons said, dismissing claims from critics that Trump has politicized the nation’s most prominent cultural institution by inserting himself into the center’s management.
Actor Kelsey Grammer, who will participate in a tribute to actor Michael Crawford, took a less defensive tone, telling reporters, “The Kennedy Center now has a brighter future.”
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum praised Trump’s efforts at the Kennedy Center, saying, “This place is rocking right now.”
As Trump prepared to host the evening— the first time a president has done so — Burgum said he was excited to see how Trump pulled off the gig.
“With as much TV experience as President Trump has, I expect he’s going to be in fine form tonight,” Burgum said, touting Trump’s experience with “The Apprentice.”
Asked about possible additional changes on the horizon, including the possibility of renaming the Kennedy Center in honor of Trump, Kennedy Center President Ric Grenell declined to weigh in.
“If I could predict the future, you know what I would do? I would go play the lotto, and I wouldn’t be here,” he said.