President Donald Trump hosted the first Kennedy Center Honors ceremony of his second term last weekend, and one reporter in attendance described the night as "very weird."
In a Monday article in The Atlantic, writer Alexandra Petri noted that she had always been "obsessed" with the Kennedy Center Honors in the way others may be fascinated by the Oscars or the Grammys, and jumped at the chance to attend the 2025 ceremony. However, she said that this year's ceremony — now that Trump has taken over the vaunted institution by installing himself as chairman and replacing the bulk of the organization's board with his own handpicked associates — felt different [emphasis Petri's].
"Something’s off.The whole evening has the characteristics of a wish made on a monkey’s paw," Petri wrote. "You wanted the Four Seasons, but you got Four Seasons Total Landscaping. Why is a 'content creator' introducing one of the tributes to Gloria Gaynor? Where is Meryl Streep? Why does a night that should be Donald Trump’s greatest triumph feel so much like he revived the Honors from the Pet Sematary?"
At one point, Petri observed that the stage for "I Will Survive" singer Gloria Gaynor featured a giant disco ball "the size of a small boulder" that hung over the disco star and her backup dancers. A tribute video noted that Gaynor has since pivoted to making gospel music. Petri described the jarring transition from disco to gospel, and wondered if the spectacle was what Trump envisioned when he first decided to put himself in charge of the Kennedy Center.
"After a brief disco medley, the lighting changes. The projected nightclub imagery becomes stained-glass windows and gospel musicians enter. The disco ball is still stuck there, awkwardly, casting red and yellow and blue light around the room. Trump bops along dutifully to 'Precious Lord,'" Petri wrote. "Is this what you wished for, Mr. President?"
Petri reflected on the 2025 ceremony by wondering if Trump's desire to have an imprint on American culture may have gone awry the more he personally involved himself. She then mused that Trump may feel let down by his own influence, and wondered if he knew that his brand had tarnished what was once considered to be one of the premier artistic honors.
"This could be Donald Trump’s heaven, if only the world would cooperate. But instead everything he touches turns to brass. His pop turns to country; his Broadway turns to Christian rock; his disco turns to gospel. He is so close that he can almost taste it, but he will never get to taste it," she wrote. "Donald Trump is in hell. If only we weren’t trapped there with him."
Click here to read Petri's full article in The Atlantic (subscription required).