President Donald Trump on Wednesday named country music star George Strait, “Rocky” actor Sylvester Stallone and singer Gloria Gaynor among the first batch of Kennedy Center Honors nominees under his leadership as the center's chairman. He also said he will host the awards program.

The remaining two honorees are the rock band KISS and actor-singer Michael Crawford.

Asked how involved he was in the nomination process, Trump told reporters he was "98%" involved in the selection process, adding that he "turned down plenty. They were too woke."

Trump avoided the Kennedy Center Honors awards program during his first term after artists said they would not attend out of protest. This year, the Republican president has taken over as the Kennedy Center's new chairman and fired the board of

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