U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he holds a press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin following their meeting to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, U.S., August 15, 2025. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon

President Donald Trump's critics, both left and right, often attack MAGA Republicans for their over-the-top fawning over him. When MAGA Republicans propose renaming the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. after Trump, giving him the Nobel Peace Prize or carving his image onto Mount Rushmore alongside images of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln or Teddy Roosevelt, critics say, it glaring proof that the MAGA movement is a cult.

But the New York Times' Frank Bruni, in a biting but humorous and sarcastic column published on August 18, argues that there might be a positive side to honoring Trump in ridiculous ways.

"I say we give him one of the Kennedy Center Honors," Bruni sarcastically proposes. "And after that, the Nobel Peace Prize, his lusting for which almost certainly factored into his meeting with Vladimir Putin. And then, well, there's no end to the accolades we could bestow on him, the trinkets we could throw at him, the trumpets we could blow for him, if we think creatively enough. Just as there's no limit to his need for validation, veneration, feting, festooning. We can't wish away his vanity any more than we can take the wetness out of water. So why not work with it?"

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Bruni continues, "If we keep him busy with award ceremonies and bury him in gleaming trophies, glittering medallions and gaudily framed certificates, he might not be so free or feel so compelled to assert his dominance in other ways, such as stripping poor people of their health insurance, immigrants of their humanity, the judiciary of its integrity, academia of its autonomy, Democrats of winnable congressional districts and America of democracy."

Bruni goes on to humorously recommend other ways to obsequiously praise Trump.

"We give Trump an Emmy," Bruni says. "That's a no-brainer…. Of course, once we've given Trump an Emmy, he'll also want a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony, so he can join the rarefied ranks of artists who've run that golden gamut and are known as EGOT royalty."

Bruni adds, "We can just fast-track the president on alphabetical grounds….. Perhaps, with a few tweaks of the criteria, we could even snag a Heisman for Trump…. Have Trump take charge of the Oscars — behind the scenes, in front of the scenes, in as many scenes as he can be cast in."

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Frank Bruni's full New York Times column is available at this link.