The reputation of the Kennedy Center Honors has plummeted this year. The low turnout came shortly after Donald Trump added his name to the historic forum.
This year’s Kennedy Center Honors, hosted by President Trump, had an average audience of 3.01 million viewers, according to a Nielsen Live + Same Day Panel + Big Data report. This represents a 25% decrease from last year’s numbers. The 2024 program had an all-time low of 4.1 million viewers, compared to 4.5 million viewers the previous year.
The Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to Variety’s request for comment.
Trump will be the first sitting president to host the Kennedy Center Honors, which honors “individuals whose unique contributions have shaped the world,” according to the group’s website. This year’s winners were George Strait, Sylvester Stallone, Kiss, Michael Crawford, and Gloria Gaynor.
On Dec. 6, the day before the event, President Trump told reporters at the White House, “This is what I believe and I’m going to predict. This is going to be the highest-rated show they’ve ever done, and we’re getting pretty good ratings, but nothing says what’s going to happen tomorrow night.”
President Trump has set his sights on remaking the Kennedy Center in his image during his second term, going so far as to rename the venue the Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts in mid-December. The name change caused a huge uproar, resulting in several scheduled artists canceling upcoming performances.
