"That's a LOT of actors whose career fell off back in the eighties": Internet reacts as crowd cheers for Donald Trump entering the Kennedy Center Honors event

Donald Trump hosted the Kennedy Center Honors earlier this month. The entire event was broadcast on television and other streaming platforms on Tuesday, December 23, with a video of the U.S. President’s entry grabbing a lot of attention.

The clip shows the Opera House of the National Cultural Center full of an audience.

Famous personalities were spotted clapping, and they stood up as soon as Donald Trump came on stage. People continued their applause while Trump walked towards the microphone.

Before the ceremony aired everywhere, Trump shared a post on X (formerly Twitter), requesting people to share their opinion about his hosting.

“If really good, would you like me to leave the Presidency in order to make “hosting” a full time job? We will be honoring true GREATS in the History of Entertainment: Sylvester Stallone, Michael Crawford, KISS, George Strait, and Gloria Gaynor,” the statement reads.

On the other hand, netizens shared their reactions to Donald Trump’s entry video on the same platform.

One of the users referred to the popular faces appearing in the clip, saying that they mostly included actors who did not do so well during the ‘80s.

“That’s a LOT of actors whose career fell off back in the eighties,” @v_rm_n wrote.

A user even praised Donald Trump, saying that he can unite everyone’s emotions.

“People don’t erupt for bureaucrats. They erupt for figures who make them feel seen, even in disagreement. Trump may divide pundits, but he unites emotion because he occupies in space, not the spin room,” @mo_free_nig said.

Another individual stated that such events were necessary for the culture that everyone commonly follows.

“I’ve seen people complaining about Trump taking time for fanfare stuff like this. People don’t realize how very important events like this are to rebuild and heal our culture. This is awesome!!!,” @BlueTapp commented.

An individual was also spotted criticizing Trump, alleging that he “played” with everyone.

“Disgusting. We average American maga people are done with him. He played us good,” @huskabouttime stated.

A reaction featured the individual claiming that people were watching the ceremony only because of the ones being honored.

“We’re watching because it’s a great batch of honorees,” @PatriciaLWatts said.

Donald Trump shared his opinion about the honorees this month

The Kennedy Center event was originally organized on December 7, 2025. According to NBC News, singer and actor Michael Crawford was one of the recipients. There were also Sylvester Stallone, Gloria Gaynor, and George Strait in the list.

After the ceremony, Donald Trump said that the honorees have always represented the culture of America, describing them as the “most accomplished and renowned class” of people that he has ever seen.

He mentioned that he has been their fan and has known them for a long time.

While Crawford was receiving the medal, Trump praised him and Gloria, specifically appreciating Michael’s work in Phantom of the Opera, as per NBC News.

“We can hardly imagine the country music phenomena without its king of country, or American disco without its first lady, or Broadway without its phantom – and that was a phantom, let me tell you – or rock and roll without its hottest band in the world, and that’s what they are, or Hollywood without one of its greatest visionaries,” he said.

Donald Trump also mentioned that each one of the honorees left a different kind of impact on “American life” and has set a new standard for the performing arts at the same time.