President Donald Trump solidified his takeover of Washington’s John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Sunday by hosting its flagship awards program – a presidential first – mixing politics with a celebration of stars from music and film.

This year’s Kennedy Center Honors, widely seen as the top US recognition for lifetime achievement in the performing arts, feted actor Sylvester Stallone, disco singer Gloria Gaynor, country musician George Strait, Phantom of the Opera star Michael Crawford and rock band Kiss.

Trump, who had a hand in picking the recipients, did not attend Kennedy Center events during his first term. But he has taken a keen interest in the institution during his second, firing its president, installing a new board that made him chair and ordering a renovation of the building.

He told reporters as he arrived for the show that the Kennedy Center is “going to be brought back to life”.

“We are saving the Kennedy Center,” Trump said, with first lady Melania Trump at his side.

The former real estate developer is putting his stamp on both the White House and the Kennedy Center structures, controversially tearing down the White House’s East Wing to make room for a 90,000-sq-ft ballroom. The Kennedy Center’s new president, Ric Grenell, who once served as Trump’s ambassador to Germany, is overseeing the performing arts complex’s multi-million-dollar renovation and revamping the organization’s events, including hosting the World Cup final draw on Friday.

Grenell’s tenure has been marked by staff turnover and discontent in the arts community about the center’s direction.

In the Oval Office on Saturday, Trump praised this year’s honorees and gave them newly designed gold medallions with blue ribbons, rather than the rainbow-colored ribbons used since 1978 to represent the spectrum of performing arts.

“These are among the greatest artists, actors and performers of their generation,” Trump said. “We can hardly imagine the country music phenomenon without its king of country, or the American disco without its first lady, or Broadway without its phantom…or Rock and Roll without its hottest band in the world, and that’s what they are, or Hollywood without one of its greatest visionaries.”

During Trump’s first term, multiple honorees were openly critical of the president. In 2017, Trump’s first year in office, honors recipient and film producer Norman Lear threatened to boycott his own ceremony if Trump attended. Trump stayed away during that entire term.

Trump has said he was deeply involved in choosing the 2025 honorees and turned down some recommendations because they were “too woke”. While Stallone is one of Trump’s Hollywood ”special ambassadors” and has likened Trump to George Washington, the political views of Sunday’s other guests are less clear.

Kiss members Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss rose to fame in the 1970s with hits such as I Was Made for Lovin’ You and Rock and Roll All Nite. Country star Strait’s hits include the song Down and Out. Gaynor is known for her disco hit I Will Survive. English stage actor Crawford originated the lead role in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical The Phantom of the Opera, and film star Stallone established himself with movies such as Rocky and Rambo.

Strait and Gaynor have said little about their politics, although Federal Election Commission (FEC) records show that Gaynor has given money to Republican organizations in recent years.

Simmons spoke favorably of Trump when Trump ran for president in 2016. But in 2022, Simmons told Spin magazine that Trump was “out for himself” and criticized Trump for encouraging conspiracy theories and public expressions of racism.

Fellow Kiss member Stanley denounced Trump’s effort to overturn his 2020 election defeat to Democrat Joe Biden, and said Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol on January 6, were “terrorists”. But after Trump won in 2024, Stanley urged unity.

“If your candidate lost, it’s time to learn from it, accept it and try to understand why,” Stanley wrote on X. “If your candidate won, it’s time to understand that those who don’t share your views also believe they are right and love this country as much as you do.”

The Kennedy Center Honors show will air on the CBS television network on 23 December.