Trump to host Kennedy Center Honors, contemplates celebrating himself

• During the press conference, Trump announced George Strait, Michael Crawford, Sylvester Stallone, Gloria Gaynor and rock band Kiss will be this year's honorees.

Context: Trump in February installed himself as head of the Kennedy Center and removed adversarial members of the traditionally bipartisan board.

• His takeover prompted boycotts from major artists. Meanwhile, subscription sales for the Kennedy Center's upcoming season decreased about $1.6 million compared to last year — a 36% drop.
• "They'll say 'Trump made it political,'" the president said. "But I think if we made it our kind of political, we'll go up. Let's see if I'm right about that."

What he's saying: Trump said he always wanted to win a Kennedy Center award.

• "I waited and waited and waited, and I said, 'To hell with it, I'll become chairman and I'll give myself an honor,'" he said Wednesday. "Next year we'll honor Trump, OK? This year the board has selected a truly exceptional class of honorees."

What we're watching: House Republicans last month passed a spending bill amendment through committee that would rename The Kennedy Center after Trump and the opera house after first lady Melania Trump.

• The changes, though, would violate the law that created the Kennedy Center, NBC News reported.

Flashback: During his prior term, Trump was the first president to skip all four years of the Kennedy Center Honors after some recipients declined to meet him at a White House reception.

Go deeper: Kennedy Center subscriptions drop $1.6M under Trump

Editor's note: This story was updated with developments.