How the Kennedy Center Has Been Transformed by Trumpism

Key Highlights

• The Honors medallions, which historically were trimmed in rainbow ribbon and had been made, for forty-seven years, by the Baturin family, in Bethesda, Maryland, were redesigned, by Tiffany & Co., with a navy-blue ribbon purportedly associated with “tradition.” This year’s awardees were the country singer George Strait, the glam-rock band Kiss, the Broadway tenor Michael Crawford—known for his defining role as the Phantom of the Opera—the disco queen Gloria Gaynor, and Sylvester Stallone, of “Rocky” and “Rambo” fame.
• “We’ve had no group like it,” Trump said, an accurate statement.
• No previous cohort of Honors talent has so perfectly reflected a single person’s taste. Also a seeming tribute to Trump: steak-house salads served in glass cups outside the auditorium; Mar-a-Lago-faced women done up as if “Thank you for your attention to this matter!” were a dress code.
• (“This matter” being boobs.) Selfie stations were arranged around the Grand Foyer, the backdrops resplendent with crushed roses, cinematic skylines, and guitars.
• Greg Brockman, the president of OpenAI, milled about with political figures such as Marco Rubio, Howard Lutnick, Kari Lake, and Sean Duffy.