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EXCLUSIVE: The Kennedy Middle Honors has raised a file $23 million for its forty eighth annual celebration, practically doubling the $12.7 million raised final 12 months underneath President Biden, as President Donald Trump begins his tenure as chairman of the Kennedy Middle, Fox Information Digital has realized.
In response to the Kennedy Middle, the $23 million whole marks the most important fundraising haul within the 48-year historical past of the Honors, which was launched in 1978 because the establishment’s highest recognition of lifetime inventive achievement.
Whereas Kennedy Middle Honorees have visited the Oval Workplace privately in previous years, Trump on Saturday hosted the primary official, on-camera ceremony recognizing the recipients contained in the Oval Workplace, introducing every honoree forward of Sunday night time’s gala.
Kennedy Middle President Richard Grenell advised Fox Information Digital that the middle “practically doubled final 12 months’s fundraising, reaching a historic $23 million {dollars},” calling the Honors “one in all our nation’s highest celebrations of the performing arts.”
Trump’s expanded function as chairman and his direct involvement within the weekend’s occasions, officers say, have contributed to what they describe as “intense curiosity and momentum” across the program.
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The White Home X web page posted a photograph of President Donald Trump on the Resolute Desk with the 2025 Kennedy Middle Honorees. (@WhiteHouse through X)
Roma Daravi, the Kennedy Middle’s vp of public relations, advised Fox Information Digital the brand new benchmark displays unprecedented donor enthusiasm.
“The record-breaking $23 million in contributions to the Kennedy Middle Honors is a testomony to the extraordinary help for our mission and affirms a vibrant future for this beloved American establishment,” she mentioned.
Throughout Saturday night’s Oval Workplace ceremony, a primary in Honors historical past, Trump personally launched every of the 2025 honorees. “Nice honor,” he started. “And I am delighted to welcome to the Oval Workplace… our actually distinctive 2025 Kennedy Middle honorees.”
He went on to name the group “maybe probably the most completed and famend class of Kennedy Middle honorees ever assembled.”
This 12 months’s recipients embrace George Strait, members of the rock band KISS — Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Peter Criss, and Ace Frehley (posthumous) — Michael Crawford, Gloria Gaynor and Sylvester Stallone.
Trump singled out every in flip, praising Strait as a “nation music legend,” Crawford as a “nice star of Broadway,” Gaynor as “the disco queen,” Stallone as “one of many true nice film stars,” and KISS as “the unbelievable rock band.”
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President Donald Trump delivers remarks 2025 Kennedy Middle Honorees look within the Oval Workplace on Saturday. (Aaron Schwartz/Getty Photos)
Trump additionally unveiled the Honors’ new medallions, redesigned and donated by Tiffany & Co. “We will likely be presenting this 12 months with the Kennedy Middle Honors medallions, which will likely be designed this 12 months with the assistance of the unbelievable group at Tiffany and Firm,” he mentioned.
The brand new medallion includes a gold disc etched with a picture of the Kennedy Middle, flanked by rainbow colours representing the breadth of artwork disciplines celebrated by the Honors.
The reverse aspect consists of every honoree’s identify in script above the date of the 2025 Medallion Ceremony, and the medallion hangs from a navy-blue ribbon “related to dignity and custom,” in line with the establishment’s description.
The honorees will likely be formally acknowledged Sunday night throughout a star-studded celebration on the Kennedy Middle following a State Division reception, which Trump famous “was by no means achieved earlier than” as a result of “we by no means had a president internet hosting the awards earlier than. That is the primary.”
This 12 months’s class spans 5 a long time of American cultural achievement. Strait, generally known as the “King of Nation Music,” holds greater than 100 million RIAA certifications and stays the one artist to chart a High 10 hit yearly for greater than thirty years. KISS has offered greater than 100 million albums worldwide and stays one in all America’s most enduring rock teams.
U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks as honorees (2nd-L-R) musicians Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons of the rock band KISS, actor Sylvester Stallone, musician Peter Criss of the rock band KISS, actor Michael Crawford and nation musician George Strait look on throughout the medal presentation ceremony for the 2025 Kennedy Middle Honorees within the Oval Workplace of the White Home on December 06, 2025 in Washington, DC. The 2025 Kennedy Middle honorees are Sylvester Stallone, George Strait, the rock band KISS, Gloria Gaynor, and Michael Crawford. (Aaron Schwartz/Getty Photos)
Crawford is internationally identified for originating the title function in “The Phantom of the Opera.” Gaynor has achieved world stardom throughout 5 a long time and is a two-time Grammy winner.
Stallone, an Academy Award–nominated actor, author and director, has formed generations of filmgoers by the “Rocky” and “Rambo” franchises.
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Actor Sylvester Stallone appears on throughout a medal presentation ceremony of the 2025 Kennedy Middle Honorees within the Oval Workplace of the White Home on Saturday. (Aaron Schwartz/Getty Photos)
The Kennedy Middle itself, based in 1971 because the nationwide residing memorial to President John F. Kennedy, hosts greater than 2,000 performances every year. The Honors started in 1978 and have turn out to be a defining fixture of Washington’s cultural calendar.
Trump additionally highlighted ongoing renovations to the Kennedy Middle constructing, which he mentioned are being carried out “at a stage that no person’s ever seen earlier than,” noting congressional funding for main upgrades — together with enhancements to acoustics. “The sound is so unbelievable,” he mentioned. “If it is constructed with unhealthy sound, you by no means get it fastened.”
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The forty eighth annual Kennedy Middle Honors will air Dec. 23 on CBS and can stream on Paramount+, with stay entry for Premium subscribers and next-day streaming for Important subscribers.
Officers say the weekend’s occasions, from the FIFA World Cup draw to the Oval Workplace reception to Sunday’s gala, replicate a brand new chapter for the establishment because it enters its first full 12 months underneath Trump’s management and prepares for the subsequent part of renovations, programming, and donor enlargement.
