President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced the newest Kennedy Center Honors nominees in Washington D.C., while also offering to host the iconic awards program later this year.
WATCH THE ANNOUNCEMENT:
Among the list of honorees is "Rocky" and "Rambo" actor Sylvester Stallone, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band KISS, country music superstar George Strait, disco anthem "I Will Survive" singer Gloria Gaynor, as well as Broadway actor and singer Michael Crawford, best known for his role of "The Phantom" in Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Phantom of the Opera."
The nominees are the first to be recognized since President Trump seized control of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, fired its board of trustees, and replaced them with loyalists.
Prior to his second term, the organization's board had consisted of a mix of appointees from Democratic and Republican Presidents.
President Trump, however, has frequently criticized the center, claiming a day earlier that it "had fallen on hard times" before his takeover, but will soon be making a "MAJOR COMEBACK!"
"We have completely reversed the decline of this cherished national institution," he said Wednesday at the ceremony. "It was being run down. Money wasn't being spent properly. They were building things they shouldn't have built — that nobody wanted — instead of taking care of the great gem that it is."
"With a little fix up and a little work, we can make it unbelievable," President Trump added, while hinting at future renovations.
