President Trump has given out medals to this year’s Kennedy Centre Honourees in the Oval Office.
The President celebrated a star-studded lineup of the nation’s most “acclaimed and renowned performers”.
Dressed in a tuxedo, he awarded gold-and-navy medallions to actor Sylvester Stallone, singers Gloria Gaynor and George Strait, actor-singer Michael Crawford and members of the rock band KISS.
“This is perhaps the most accomplished and renowned class of Kennedy Centre Honourees ever assembled,” Trump boasted.
The Kennedy Centre Honours are annual honours given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture. They have been presented annually since 1978, culminating each December in a gala celebrating five Honourees in the Kennedy Centre Opera House in Washington, DC.
While the awards are primarily given to individuals, they have occasionally been given to duos or musical groups, musicals and TV shows.
More than 250 people have been awarded the Kennedy Centre Honours since its inception.
The award given to stand-up comedian and actor Bill Cosby in 1998 was rescinded in 2018 following Cosby’s sexual assault conviction.
Trump presented each of the latest Honourees with a newly designed medal, created and donated by Tiffany & Co.
The 48th Kennedy Centre Honours ceremony is due to take place on Sunday evening.
