President says he was 98% involved in picking the Kennedy Center honorees; vetoed the 'wokesters.'

OK. Pay attention. The Kennedy Center Honors. Important institution. Forty-eight years of broadcast. Each year five people in American performing arts get the medallion. Past honorees: Frank Sinatra. Aretha Franklin. Tennessee Williams. The list is no joke. The list is the list.

The selection has historically been done by a committee. The committee is, you know, the people who pick the honorees. People with taste. People who know the difference between a Pulitzer and a People’s Choice. The committee picks the names, the names go on the medal, the medal goes on TV in December.

This year, the President got up at the Kennedy Center on Wednesday and announced that he was “about 98 percent” involved in picking the names. He also said he was going to host the December broadcast. He also said he had vetoed names that were “too woke.” He used the word “wokesters.” Wokesters. Out of the mouth of the President of the United States, in the lobby of the Kennedy Center, on a Wednesday in August.

The 2025 honorees are George Strait, Sylvester Stallone, Gloria Gaynor, Michael Crawford, and KISS. Now, look. None of those people did anything wrong. George Strait is a giant of American country music. Sylvester Stallone wrote Rocky and that movie matters. KISS is, you know, KISS. Fine. Fine fine fine.

But the process matters. The committee matters. The committee is the reason the medal means something on the broadcast in December. When the man who runs the country also picks the medal recipients also hosts the broadcast also vetoes the names he doesn’t like also used the word “wokesters” in a Kennedy Center lobby — you no longer have a national arts honor. You have a personal awards show. You have the Trump Honors. The Kennedy in the title is a guy whose family is not hosting.

This is what happens when the most powerful guy in the room books himself as the headliner, the producer, the casting director, and the security at the door.

I’m arguing with the television.