The Kennedy Center Honors Pick Its 2026 Class, but the Show Is Moving Out of the Building

The Kennedy Center Honors are usually one of the most predictable nights on the arts calendar. Not this year. On Monday, the center announced five new honorees: singer-songwriter Paul Anka, producer David Foster, actor Andy Garcia, playwright David Mamet, and country star Barbara Mandrell.

On talent alone, it's a strong list. Anka wrote "My Way" for Frank Sinatra and co-wrote the theme for The Tonight Show. Foster has spent 50 years producing hits for everyone from Chicago to Natalie Cole. Garcia gave us The Untouchables and The Godfather Part III. Mamet wrote Glengarry Glen Ross and American Buffalo, and Mandrell is in the Country Music Hall of Fame with songs like "Sleeping Single in a Double Bed."

But the conversation quickly turned to politics. Anka is a longtime friend of President Trump and once rewrote "My Way" with MAGA-themed lyrics. Foster has performed for Trump, and Mamet has talked openly about leaving liberalism behind. Trump fired the center's board last year, installed loyalists who made him chairman, and hosted last year's ceremony himself. AV Club's headline put it bluntly, calling this a fresh crop of Trump supporters.

And then there's the venue. For the first time since the Honors began in 1978, the ceremony won't be held at the Kennedy Center. It's moving to Capital One Arena on December 7. The building has been closed for months, fenced off for repairs while the center fights in federal court over Trump's plans to renovate it and add his name to it.

Historically, presidents honored artists from across the political spectrum, and the show was a rare bipartisan moment in Washington. Trump says the center is proud to keep a nearly 50-year tradition going.