US President Donald Trump on Wednesday has named the first batch of Kennedy Center Honors recipients under his leadership as the center’s chairman. The list includes country music star George Strait, “Rocky” actor Sylvester Stallone, singer Gloria Gaynor, rock band Kiss and actor-singer Michael Crawford. Trump said he will personally host the awards program.He also announced plans to fully renovate the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, calling it a future “crown jewel” of American arts and culture.“We’re going to bring it to a higher level than it ever hit,” Trump said. The upgraded venue will feature in next year’s celebrations marking America’s 250th anniversary. Trump added that he didn’t want to host the program but was invited to do so and agreed.Trump, who avoided the event during his first term after some artists boycotted in protest, has since taken control of the institution. Earlier this year, he replaced the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees with his own appointees.In a Truth Social post on Tuesday, Trump jokingly referred to change the name for the center to “Trump/Kennedy Center” and promised to restore it to “top-level” luxury and glamour.The post read, ” Great Nominees for the Trump/Kennedy Center, whoops, I mean, Kennedy Centre awards. They will be announced Wednesday. Tremendous work is being done, and money being spent, on bringing it back to the absolute top level of luxury, glamour, and entertainment.” “It had fallen on hard times, physically, but will soon be making a major comeback!!! President DJT.”In a statement on social media, the Kennedy Center said it was “honored” to host Trump, who was visiting for the third time since January. “Thanks to his advocacy, our beautiful building will undergo renovations to restore its prestige and grandeur,” the venue said.During a visit to the building in March, Trump had criticized the venue’s condition, calling it in “tremendous disrepair.”Trump said he was “about 98% involved” in selecting this year’s honorees, rejecting some candidates he considered “too woke” or too liberal. He described the artists, including several of his favorites, as “great people.”Traditionally, a bipartisan advisory committee has made the selections, but it is unclear how the process was handled this year.The Kennedy Center Honors, established in 1978, have recognized a wide range of artists, often with presidents from both parties in attendance. Past honorees have included both political allies and opponents of sitting presidents.During his first term in 2017, Trump and First Lady Melania Trump skipped the event after several recipients, including Norman Lear, said they would not attend in protest of Trump’s proposed arts funding cuts. Since returning to office, Trump has taken a more direct role in the center’s governance, including influencing programming decisions and pledging to end performances featuring drag artists.These moves have drawn criticism from parts of the arts community. In March, the producers of Hamilton withdrew plans to stage the musical at the center in 2026, citing Trump’s leadership changes. In July, House Republicans added an amendment to a spending bill, later signed by Trump, to rename the Kennedy Center’s Opera House in honor of Melania Trump. The change has not yet been implemented. Maria Shriver, a Democrat and niece of the late President Kennedy, called this move as “insane.”