President Donald Trump, not a known fan of critics, surprised some this week when he nominated KISS, a rock band whose members have previously shaded him, for a Kennedy Center Honor.

In an announcement Aug. 13, Trump revealed KISS would receive the storied national honor alongside disco singer Gloria Gaynor, "Rocky" star Sylvester Stallone, Broadway great Michael Crawford and country crooner George Strait.

In his speech, he touched on a recent decision to overhaul the Kennedy Center, decrying "woke" programming and saying, as the newly self-appointed chairman, he had turned down several potential nominees for their views.

KISS made the cut, however, despite some previous comments by guitarist and singer Gene Simmons, who once said the president was "out for himself."

Simmons, a onetime contestant on Trump-hosted reality series "The Apprentice," told Spin magazine in 2022 that the president had unleashed a torrent of hyper-polarization within the country.

"I knew him before he entered politics. Look what that gentleman did to this country and the polarization – got all the cockroaches to rise to the top," he said. "Once upon a time, you were embarrassed to be publicly racist and out there with conspiracy theories. Now it's all out in the open because he allowed it."

"You have a different responsibility when you're just a citizen or an entrepreneur. You don't make policy," Simmons added. "It doesn't affect life and death. When you get into a position of power, it does affect lives. I don't think he's a Republican or a Democrat. He's out for himself, any way you can get there. And in the last election, over 70 million people bought it hook, line and sinker."

Similarly, guitarist Paul Stanley wrote in a 2021 post to X, amid Trump's push to overturn the 2020 election of former President Joe Biden, that his behavior was "abhorrent."

Responding to a Washington Post article describing the president's push to find close to 12,000 votes in Georgia to overturn the national results, Stanley wrote: "A true danger to our democracy. The issue isn’t that it WON'T work. It's Mob Boss behavior and politicians putting party over audits, investigations, court rulings & COUNTRY in an effort to overrule the will of American voters."

The grease-paint sporting foursome, who brought a heavy metal sound to the rock genre in the mid 1970s, now find themselves the subject of Trump's praise. Later this year, the president will help deliver them the coveted rainbow sashes at a Kennedy Center ceremony he is set to host, a stark change from the original format.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: KISS criticized Trump prior to Kennedy Center Honors

Reporting by Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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