The Kennedy Center drops 'Trump' branding as Bill Maher’s Twain Award
guests are revealed
[June 09, 2026]
By HILLEL ITALIE
NEW YORK (AP) — John Mellencamp, Jay Leno and Whitney Cummings will be
among the guest speakers when Bill Maher receives the Mark Twain Award
for American Humor during a June 28 ceremony at the Kennedy Center.
The center disclosed the list Monday in an email sent to members, who
were offered packages ranging from $99 for a seat reservation to $1,500
and more for seating and admission to pre- and post-show receptions. The
announcement also marks a notable change in how the center is
identifying itself: The news came from the Kennedy Center, not the
"Trump Kennedy Center," a switch that also appears on the center's home
page.
Last month, a federal judge ruled that President Donald Trump's
handpicked board of trustees had acted illegally when they voted to add
Trump's name to the venue, which Congress in 1964 named for the recently
assassinated President John F. Kennedy.
“The Kennedy Center’s organic statute makes crystal clear that the
Center is to be named for President Kennedy, and it cannot bear any
other formal name or public memorial based on the Board’s unilateral
say-so. Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can
change it,” wrote U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper.
Although a Kennedy spokesperson suggested the venue might appeal the
decision, the center received an email last week from its general
counsel that laid out steps for cooperation, including the removal of
Trump's name. After mostly ignoring the Kennedy Center during his first
term, Trump soon made the center a key part of his overall mission to
purge federal cultural institutions of so-called “woke” influences. He
ousted the leadership, filled the board of trustees with supporters and
presided over such signature events as the Kennedy Honors ceremony.
[to top of second column]
|
Bill Maher arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party, March 15, 2026,
in Los Angeles. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
 In response, numerous performers
cancelled planned appearances at the center, including Issa Rae,
Bela Fleck and Renée Fleming.
Maher is the 27th recipient of the Twain Award, which has previously
been given to Leno, Steve Martin and Tina Fey among others. Trump
and Maher have publicly feuded in recent years, but the HBO host is
otherwise the kind of comedian that many Republicans have found
palatable — a self-styled independent who regularly attacks
Hollywood as “woke” and has interviewed everyone from liberal
stalwarts like Jane Fonda to conservative commentators like Ben
Shapiro and Charlie Kirk to such “cancelled” cultural figures as
Woody Allen.
Other guests expected at the Twain ceremony include the comedian
Louis C.K., who has been touring regularly since allegations of
sexual misconduct briefly upended his career after they were
reported in 2017, and the controversial ESPN personality Stephen A.
Smith, whose blunt comments on sports and beyond have led to fierce
exchanges with NBA star Jaylen Brown and commentator Keith Olbermann
among others.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
