President Donald Trump’s opening monologue for the Kennedy Center Honors was apparently deemed too long by CBS, which cut his remarks down by 10 full minutes.
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.’”
In addition to cutting down Trump’s speech, CBS also kept the name as the “Kennedy Center Honors,” instead of the “Trump-Kennedy Center Honors, ” as the president wished, citing a need for congressional approval.
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 Centers 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.”
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 P.M. EST!”
That caused Renaud to send 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 Post reported that far from acting as the master of ceremonies for the entire event as one might have expected, “Throughout the ceremony, Trump made limited appearances onstage, instead introducing remaining honorees in video segments prerecorded from the Oval Office.”
During a commercial break, CBS aired a trailer for first lady Melania Trump’s upcoming Netflix documentary, “Melania.” The Hollywood Reporter reported that the Kennedy Center would host the red-carpet premiere.
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