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Kennedy Center Honors 2026 Announced by Trump
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In Short: Billboard and People reported that President Donald Trump announced the five honorees for the 2026 Kennedy Center Honors in a press release, a change from the live event format used in previous years.
Billboard and People reported that President Donald Trump announced the five honorees for the 2026 Kennedy Center Honors in a press release, a change from the live event format used in previous years. Trump stated, 'We are recognizing amazing artists whose lifelong work has shaped American culture and inspired generations of audiences,' in the press release.
The honorees were chosen based on recommendations from the Kennedy Center’s special honors advisory committee, which includes former honorees, artists, and board members. Trump, as chairman of the committee, played a significant role in the selection process.
Billboard and Rolling Stone highlighted that this year’s honorees include Paul Anka, David Foster, Andy Garcia, David Mamet, and Barbara Mandrell. Anka, 85, and Foster, both born in Canada, have been active in the music industry for nearly seven decades.
The 2026 Kennedy Center Honors will take place at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., rather than the Kennedy Center Opera House, due to ongoing disputes and renovation battles surrounding the main facility.
The Kennedy Center Honors will continue to be called the Kennedy Center Honors, with President Trump’s name not appearing in the title.
Billboard and The Independent mentioned that the Kennedy Center was abruptly closed in September following a vote by the center's board, citing structural safety concerns and severe financial strain. The administration and center officials have said the building needs roughly $257 million in renovations and repairs.
The Kennedy Center Honors, which began in 1978, will celebrate the lifetime contributions of influential artists in music, dance, theater, opera, motion pictures, and television. This year’s honorees range in age from Garcia, 70, to Anka, 85.
The Kennedy Center Honors will be held on December 7, 2026, at Capital One Arena, with Boeing as the exclusive underwriter of the Kennedy Center Honors Gala. The program’s broadcast partner for 2026 was not announced.
The Kennedy Center Honors advisory committee, under Trump’s leadership, recommended the honorees, with Trump claiming he was 'about 98 percent involved' in the selection process.
Billboard and Deadline highlighted that the honorees include Garcia, who earned an Oscar nomination for 'The Godfather: Part III,' Mamet, who won the Pulitzer Prize for 'Glengarry Glen Ross,' and Mandrell, a celebrated country singer who twice won the Country Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year award.
What's confirmed
- Unlike last year, when President Donald Trump personally announced the five honorees at a live press event, this year’s selections were announced in the traditional way, in a press release, which included a quote from Trump: “We are recognizing amazing artists whose lifelong work has shaped American culture and inspired generations of audiences,” he said.
- “We are proud to honor this year’s class and to continue a tradition that has defined the Center for nearly 50 years.” This year’s honorees were chosen based on the recommendation of the Kennedy Center’s special honors advisory committee, whose members include former honorees, artists and members of the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees, under the leadership of Trump, as its chairman.
- Anka, 85, has been writing and recording hits for nearly seven decades.
- This year’s honorees range in age from Garcia, 70, to Anka, 85.
- The 2026 Kennedy Center Honors will be held at Capital One Arena amid President Donald Trump’s closure of the performing arts institution Robin L Marshall/Getty; SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty; Amy Sussman/Getty President Donald Trump has announced the recipients of the 2026 Kennedy Center Honors.
- Home » Donald Trump’s Kennedy Center Honors Announcement Comes With a Twist Donald Trump has announced the five recipients of the 2026 Kennedy Center Honors, but this year’s ceremony will break with tradition.
- The latest Kennedy Center Honors will take place at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.
- Singer-songwriter Paul Anka, record producer and composer David Foster, actor Andy Garcia, playwright David Mamet, and singer Barbara Mandrell are the five honorees announced by President Donald Trump and the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees on Monday.
What's still developing
- Monday’s announcement of the 2026 Kennedy Center Honorees is coming much later in the year than last year’s announcement, which was made on Aug. 13, 2025.
- The 2025 honorees, which, Trump boasted, he played a large role in selecting, were country icon George Strait, theatrical rock veterans KISS, Broadway star Michael Crawford, disco star Gloria Gaynor and actor-director Sylvester Stallone.
- In 2013, he published his autobiography, “My Way,” a New York Times bestseller.
- The push to rename the arts institution has drawn blowback, including by members of the Kennedy family and resulted in numerous artists dropping out of planned performance at the Kennedy Center.