Art is a unifying human experience. The Kennedy Center Awards are an annual event which honors our nation’s artists. This year will be another normal event, with the President and First Lady in attendance. Gone are the Trump years where Donald and Melania pointedly did not show up. The explanation given at that time was that Trump was afraid of being heckled politically.
There may have been truth to that. It’s entirely possible that during acceptance speeches an honoree or a presenter may have said something political, given how fraught that political climate was. However, it’s also been rumored that Trump simply didn’t want to attend, because these snooty, high end culture events bored him. Besides, he was going to be the audience, not the show. Can’t have that.
Here are the people who will be honored this year. I’m sure they are relieved that the honor didn’t come a few years earlier. KennedyCenter.org
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has selected the 45th Honorees for lifetime artistic achievements: acclaimed actor and filmmaker George Clooney; contemporary Christian and pop singer-songwriter Amy Grant; legendary singer of soul, Gospel, R&B, and pop Gladys Knight; Cuban-born American composer, conductor, and educator Tania León; and iconic Irish rock band U2, comprised of band members Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr. The event takes place Sunday, December 4th at 6:30 p.m. in the Kennedy Center Opera House, and will be televised Wednesday, December 28th on CBS.
Throughout its 45-year history, the Kennedy Center Honors has redefined America’s perception of its artistic legacy and reinvented the way this nation rewards its artists. The Honors have been compared to a knighthood in Britain, or the French Legion of Honor — the quintessential reward for a lifetime’s endeavor. At the same time, the annual addition of new names to the roster of Honors recipients charts the international standard of excellence set by America’s artists, as well as the aesthetic inspiration provided by artists of other nations who have achieved prominence on these shores.
The annual Honors gala is an evening without categories, without disappointments, without competition — and the Honors telecast is a perennial Emmy nominee. It serves for millions of American arts lovers as the year’s crowning event, paying tribute to our nation’s preeminent artists with performances by the great stars of today who have followed in their footsteps. The complete list of guest performers is kept secret until the show is in progress, keeping both the Honorees and the nation on the edge of their seats.
As stated, the Trumps decided to avoid all four of the Kennedy Center honors during the years they were in the White House. This was their explanation.
Trump and former first lady Melania Trump announced in August 2017 that they would not be attending the Kennedy Center Honors in order to avoid what they described as a “political distraction.”
“Each year, the Kennedy Center honors the careers and achievements of artists who have helped shape cultural life in the United States with a weekend that includes celebrations and events,” they said in a statement at the time. “The President and First Lady have decided not to participate in this year’s activities to allow the honorees to celebrate without any political distraction.”
It’s just one more reminder of how Trump never was and never even attempted to be a president for all Americans. He was strictly running his freak show and he didn’t want the attention to be elsewhere, even for a few hours on a Sunday evening.
