WASHINGTON − Donald Trump traded the presidential box for center stage as he became the first president to host the Kennedy Center Honors.

After skipping all of the ceremonies during his first term, the president brought his signature showmanship to the star-studded evening on Sunday, Dec. 7, honoring his "very special friend" actor Sylvester Stallone, Broadway great Michael Crawford, the famed rockers of KISS, disco icon Gloria Gaynor and the "undisputed king of country music" George Strait at the 48th Kennedy Center Honors in Washington.

Trump alternated between lavishing praise on the attendees, boasting about the "greatest night in the history of the Kennedy Center," throwing a few jabs at audience members as well as former President Joe Biden, and quipping about renaming the venue in his honor. "The Trump Kennedy Center, I mean … I'm sorry, this is terribly embarrassing," he said.

The typically bipartisan affair was attended by many key figures in Trump's orbit, including fellow former TV personality turned politico Dr. Mehmet Oz, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and senior adviser to the U.S. Agency for Global Media Kari Lake. Legends of stage and screen, including a strong country music contingent, offered sung and spoken tributes to the honorees, including actors Kelsey Grammer and Kurt Russell, musicians Miranda Lambert, Cheap Trick and Garth Brooks, and magician Criss Angel.

The show, which will air on CBS and Paramount+ Tuesday, Dec. 23, at 8 p.m. ET/PT, was capped off with an after-party in the Kennedy Center's Grand Foyer.

Here's a rundown of everything you missed at the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors:

Celebrating Sylvester Stallone's 'legendary toughness'

The night kicked off with a rousing rendition of "Gonna Fly Now" – aka the "Theme from Rocky" – performed by musicians including legendary jazz trumpet virtuoso Arturo Sandoval, a 2024 honoree who donned his rainbow stripes for the ceremony. Some of the Italian Stallion's costars and his brother made the audience chuckle by doing an impression of Stallone’s iconic gravelly voice.

Russell, who costarred with Stallone in the 1989 buddy cop film "Tango & Cash," said Stallone's "legendary toughness is underrated" as he recalled getting a "love tap" from the action star after executing a particularly painful stunt.

"I know you weren't born, you were forged," Russell joked. "This man's literally made of iron."

In a prerecorded video tribute that also featured some of Stallone's paintings, the "Rambo" star acknowledged the similarities between himself and some of the iconic characters he has played, saying that’s part of what makes his television show "Tulsa King" so successful. "I'm just playing me," Stallone said.

Frank Stallone, who performed his song "Take You Back (Rocky)," got emotional as he described watching his brother's career after "Rocky" arrived at the theater where he once worked as an usher. "To me, he'll always be my big brother," he said as Stallone wiped his eyes in the president's box.

How Michael Crawford 'inspired generations of performers'

Though Grammer is perhaps best known as an actor, he started off his tribute to Broadway legend Michael Crawford singing a few lines from "Hello, Dolly!," Crawford's breakout film. Grammer praised Crawford for his physical comedy skills, showcased in British sitcom "Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em," and his "powerful tenor voice" that earned him a Tony Award for his role as the Phantom in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s "The Phantom of the Opera," a longtime favorite of Trump's.

"You sir, are truly where you belong," Grammer said. "Your talent, discipline, your sheer commitment to excellence, traits that define your work you have truly inspired generations of performers."

Fellow Tony Award-winning Broadway star Laura Osnes and singer David Phelps then belted out an alluring rendition of the "Phantom" title track in front of a theatrical backdrop complete with red velvet drapes and a sparkling chandelier. Carrie Manolakos, best known for playing Sophie Sheridan in "Mamma Mia!"on Broadway, also lent her soaring vocals to "It Only Takes a Moment," performed by Crawford in "Hello, Dolly!"

Before the event, Crawford told USA TODAY on the red carpet that he learned much about how to connect with audiences from watching "Dolly" director Gene Kelly sing and dance as well as the comedy routines of silent-film performers like Buster Keaton and Harold Llyod.

"That's a lesson that takes a lifetime, and I'm still learning, still," Crawford said. "Every night is a new night."

Country star George Strait, 'a cowboy's cowboy'

After a brief, champagne-soaked intermission, country singer Vince Gill recalled sharing a stage with the "king of country music" for the first time more than 40 years ago, when George Strait was just the "new kid." Despite his decades of success, Strait has stuck to his roots, offering a "true and genuine view of country music," Gill said.

"With George, what you see is what you get," Gill said. "You're a cowboy's cowboy, and your own authenticity is why we call you the king."

Strait, who accessorized his formal wear with a cowboy hat, also reflected in his prerecorded video tribute on how he went from performing in honky-tonks to making history playing to a record-breaking 110,905 fans at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas, in 2024.

Musical duo Brooks & Dunn sung the country crooner's hit "Amarillo by Morning," which presenters noted was inspired by a FedEx commercial. Gill returned to the stage to perform "Troubadour," the title track from the album that won Strait his first Grammy.

But it was fellow Texan Miranda Lambert who drew some of the biggest cheers of the night when she performed Strait's song "Run" in front of a backdrop of rolling hills.

'Queen of disco' Gloria Gaynor honored for her 'true resilience'

Who could follow the country music king except the "queen of disco"? The tempo of the evening picked up considerably when singer Elle King took the stage to perform Gloria Gaynor's iconic disco anthem "I Will Survive."

King said Gaynor's voice "conveys the story of strength and turning pain into power, proof of the true resilience of a woman." In her video message, Gaynor recounted the inspiration behind the empowering anthem: an onstage fall that temporarily left her paralyzed from the waist down and kept her in the hospital for three months.

"I was hoping I would survive this trauma that I was going through, hoping that I survived the fact that my mother had just passed away a few years prior," Gaynor said. "I was living that song, and I was certain this song was going to do for my audience what it was doing for me at the moment."

The crowd clapped and sang along as King and singer Deniece Williams performed several of Gaynor's disco hits surrounded by gilded backup dancers grooving beneath a giant, glittering disco ball – all of which matched Gaynor’s sparkly gown.

The audience kept that same energy as singers Chris Blue, Jason Crabb, Mike Farris and Debbie Winans took the stage to perform a few triumphant tracks from Gaynor's gospel album – part of a second act that earned her another Grammy 40 years after she won her first.

Making 'KISS-tory' in 6-inch platform boots

As 2020 Kennedy Center honoree Garth Brooks took the stage wearing a cowboy hat much like Strait's, he jokingly reassured the audience that he hadn't shown up for the wrong segment. He was there to honor the "badass boys in the booth," legendary rockers Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley and Peter Criss of KISS.

Though they work in a vastly different genre, Brooks said, what unites all musicians is the courage it takes to bare your soul in front of a crowd full of strangers. "Now try that in 6-inch platform shoes," he joked.

The band members recounted in a video tribute how they learned to connect with audiences through their wild onstage antics and how their iconic makeup unleashed the characters they became. Though they'd eventually take off the makeup, they'd continue to serve as the soundtrack to their fans' lives for more than half a century, and the rest, they said, is "KISS-tory."

After Brooks performed a rendition of "Shout It Out Loud" that had the band bopping in the president's box, magician Criss Angel stepped out on stage in a pair of those aforementioned platform boots worn by Stanley at the band's last show at Madison Square Garden.

In one of the most emotional tributes of the night, Angel said KISS gave him the confidence to be himself and helped his son get through cancer treatment. Angel, in an outfit nearly as sparkly as Gaynor's disco ball, then led the crowd in a moment of remembrance honoring "Spaceman" Ace Frehley, the band's original lead guitarist, who died in October. Beside him, a spotlight shined on a guitar that slowly became engulfed in smoke.

Criss, the band's original drummer, could be seen wiping his eyes.

"We were very, extremely close, he and I. We lived near each other. His wife was the godmother to my daughter," Criss told USA TODAY on the red carpet ahead of the ceremony. "He's missed, and there'll never be another like him. He was an essential part of KISS. He really made the band special. He was an amazing musician, a very inventive guitarist."

As the ceremony came to a close, fellow rockers Cheap Trick got the audience on their feet once again with a rocking performance of "Rock and Roll All Nite" as people in KISS' signature face paint danced in the aisles.

Contributing: Anna Kaufman and Joey Garrison, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump hosts tribute to Sylvester Stallone, George Strait at Kennedy Center Honors 2025

Reporting by N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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