CBS shortens Trump’s Kennedy Center address, keeps original name

WASHINGTON, DC: CBS made significant changes to President Donald Trump’s opening remarks for the 48th annual Kennedy Center Honors broadcast on Tuesday night.

They cut his roughly 12-minute speech to about two minutes. The network also decided not to use the contentious ‘'Trump-Kennedy Center’ name during its coverage, according to reports.

On Tuesday morning, Trump posted to Truth Social, “THE TRUMP KENNEDY CENTER HONORS will be broadcast tonight, on CBS, and Stream on Paramount+. Tune in at 8 PM EST!”

Shortened remarks and naming decisions

Donald Trump became the first sitting president to host the Kennedy Center Honors; CBS editors cut his address by about 10 minutes before airing it during the televised program.

According to The Washington Post, “The televised broadcast presented a pared-down version of Trump’s opening remarks, cutting his introduction from about 12 minutes live to two minutes for viewers at home, and leaving out several of his looser jokes, including a reference to the laughing audience as ‘miserable, horrible people.'”

Controversy over the venue’s name

The network did not use the new ‘Trump-Kennedy Center’ name on air.

Instead, CBS continued to call the event the Kennedy Center Honors, sticking with the original title of the long-standing Washington cultural institution.

In an email obtained by The Washington Post, Jack Renaud, senior director of standards and practices for CBS, wrote, “On Tuesday, CBS will broadcast the annual Kennedy Center Honors. Yesterday, the newly appointed board of the Kennedy Center voted to change the facility’s name to the Trump-Kennedy Center. But it would take Congressional approval to officially change the name.”

Renaud continued, “Therefore, CBS News will continue to use the ‘Kennedy Center.’ If the president or other administration officials use the new name in a soundbite, that is their prerogative.”

Renaud sent another note to staff saying, “We should NOT be calling it Trump Kennedy Center or the Trump Kennedy Center Honors, unless quoting from those who don’t realize an official name change only comes from Congress.”

The Kennedy Center was renamed the ‘Donald J Trump and the John F Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts’ earlier in December by the Kennedy Center board, which was reorganized by Trump-appointed members.

Lawmakers, proponents of historical preservation, and members of the Kennedy family criticized the decision right away, claiming that federal law prohibits such a renaming without congressional action.

The 2025 Kennedy Center Honors featured a lineup of cultural tributes and performances celebrating honorees including Sylvester Stallone, Gloria Gaynor, and KISS.