00:00Please welcome the President of the United States and the Chairman of the Board of the Kennedy Center, Donald J. Trump.
00:06Thank you very much.
00:28This is a very exciting project.
00:30We're going to do something that will go rapidly, relatively inexpensively, and we'll make it better than it ever was, frankly.
00:40It'll be something that people are going to be very proud of, along with, in the bigger picture, a place called Washington, D.C.
00:49That is the bigger one, and we'll talk about that in a little while.
00:52But let's talk about, right now, the Kennedy Center, and I'm delighted to be here as we officially announce the incredibly talented artists who will be celebrated later this year at the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors.
01:08It's going to be a big evening.
01:11I've been asked to host.
01:14I said, I'm the President of the United States.
01:17Are you fools asking me to do that?
01:19Sir, you'll get much higher ratings.
01:22I said, I don't care.
01:23I'm President of the United States.
01:24I won't do it.
01:26They said, please.
01:29And then Suzy Wilde said to me, sir, I'd like to get a host.
01:31I said, okay, Suzy, I'll do it.
01:33That's the power she's got.
01:35But I just, so I have agreed to host.
01:39Do you believe what I have to do?
01:41And I didn't want to do it, okay?
01:43They're going to say he insisted.
01:44I did not insist.
01:45But I think it will be quite successful, actually.
01:48It's been a long time.
01:49I used to host the Apprentice finales, and we did rather well with that.
01:54So I think we're going to do very well because we have some great honorees, some really great ones.
01:59Since 1978, the Kennedy Center Honors have been among the most prestigious awards in the performing arts.
02:06I wanted one.
02:06I was never able to get one.
02:08This year, it's true, actually.
02:10I would have taken it if they would have called me.
02:12I waited and waited and waited, and I said, the hell with it.
02:16I'll become chairman, and I'll give myself an honor.
02:19Maybe I'm going to honor.
02:20Next year, we'll honor Trump, okay?
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