Trump awards Sylvester Stallone the Medal of Honor: Kennedy Center ceremony will draw more viewers than Kimmel’s show
According to the CinemaDrame News Agency, U.S. President Donald Trump honored his friend and supporter Sylvester Stallone with a Medal of Honor at the White House on Saturday night. At this event, held ahead of the Kennedy Center ceremony, Trump presented the honor to several figures including the Rocky star, Gloria Gaynor, Michael Crawford, and the rock band KISS.
Trump described Stallone as “one of my friends, a great man, a truly admirable human being, and one of the real stars of cinema,” but pronounced his name as “Sylvester ‘Sly’ Salon.”
Stallone, who endorsed Trump in November 2024, did not react to the mistake. He had previously called Trump the “second George Washington,” saying: “We are in the presence of a truly legendary figure. I like the word ‘legend.’ There’s no one like this man on the planet. No one in this world could have done what he accomplished, and that amazes me.”
On Saturday night, Stallone also received another honorary award from Trump’s Vice President, JD Vance. During the ceremony, Vance praised Stallone’s films: “When I think about why my grandmother—the woman who raised me—loved your movies so much, I know it’s because she saw people like us on screen. She saw working-class people, people from humble backgrounds, those who worked hard to make the American Dream real—not those who got everything easily, but those who worked, were supported, and had a bit of luck along the way.”
Trump, who had previously announced that he would, in an unprecedented move, host Sunday night’s Kennedy Center ceremony, predicted Saturday night that its viewership would surpass Jimmy Kimmel Live: “No president has ever hosted this awards ceremony. It’s the first time. I have no doubt I’ll get good reviews. They’ll say it was terrible and that I was put in a terrible situation. But no, it’ll be fine.”
He added: “Jimmy Kimmel was terrible, and so were some of the other hosts. If I can’t beat Jimmy Kimmel in terms of art and talent, I shouldn’t be president.”
Kimmel was suspended from ABC for a week in September after he linked the attempted assassination of Charlie Kirk to Trump supporters, but returned after pressure from his fans. Last month, responding to Trump’s call for ABC to cancel his show, Kimmel suggested that if the president resigns, he would also leave the program: “You go, and I’ll go.”
