Trump-hosted Kennedy Center Honors to broadcast tonight: When and where to watch

President Donald Trump boasts of himself as “Master of Ceremony” for the broadcast of Kennedy Center Honors featuring various celebrities.

Published on: Dec 24, 2025, 05:49:47 IST

By Shirin Gupta

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President Donald Trump has announced the broadcast of the Kennedy Center Honors on Tuesday night, where he appeared as host and “Master of Ceremony” for the 48th Annual Kennedy Center Honors.

President Donald Trump poses on the red carpet for the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., U.S., December 7, 2025. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon/File Photo (REUTERS)

Trump has asked his followers to rate his hosting abilities and joked about leaving the presidency to pursue television work. He wrote, “At the request of the Board, and just about everybody else in America, I am hosting the event. Tell me what you think of my “Master of Ceremony” abilities. If really good, would you like me to leave the Presidency in order to make “hosting” a full time job?”

The award show will be star-studded with celebrations of lifetime achievement in music, film and performance.

Primetime broadcast and streaming

Tonight’s broadcast of the primetime arts awards special airs on CBS at 8 p.m. EST. The award show will also stream on Paramount+, Trump announced in an X post.

The show is set to broadcast the participation from the celebrities, live performances and the president as the host for the event.

Star line-up and the ceremony format

The Kennedy Center Honors ceremony recognises individuals who have significantly influenced American culture through music, theatre, dance, opera and film. It was founded in 1978.

The show traditionally airs between Christmas and New Year’s Eve on CBS. This year's ceremony was taped on December 7 and will feature award presentations and tribute performances as part of the televised show.

This year's honorees include actor Sylvester Stallone, “Country King” George Strait, the legendary rock band KISS, Gloria Gaynor and veteran stage and screen actor Michael Crawford.

The award show broadcast this year is twined with the controversy surrounding the renaming of the “John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts” to the “Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shirin Gupta
Shirin Gupta is a content producer with the Hindustan Times. She covers everything between politics, entertainment and sports at the US desk. Shirin got interested in political journalism during her time as a web editor at her college newspaper NCC News in Syracuse when she first started seeing the effects of national politics in life of her fellow colleagues. Shirin has worked on a wide range of fast-moving and developing stories locally when she was at NCC editing accessible reports for the audience. Her current role requires her to track real-time updates, verify information and present balanced coverage across diverse beats. Covering US politics from an international newsroom perspective has further deepened her understanding of how domestic decisions can have far-reaching global consequences. With a keen interest in international affairs, Shirin continues to build her expertise in geopolitics, policy shifts, and cross-border developments. She aims to learn and evolve her reporting in matters of geopolitics and international issues. Outside the newsroom Shirin writes about books and music for her personal blog. She is an avid consumer of pop culture and reveres literature.Read More

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