• 48th Annual Kennedy Center Honors averaged 2.65 million viewers, down from 4.1 million in 2024
• Decline follows Trump board’s vote to rename venue and president’s decision to host ceremony
• Democratic congresswoman files lawsuit claiming name change violated federal law requiring congressional approval

WASHINGTON, DC (TDR) — The 48th Annual Kennedy Center Honors drew only 2.65 million viewers on December 23, marking a 35 percent decline from 2024’s 4.1 million viewers and the smallest audience in the event’s history, according to preliminary Nielsen data reported by Programming Insider.

The telecast aired days after President Donald Trump’s handpicked board voted to rename the iconic Washington performing arts center in his honor, sparking legal challenges and criticism from the Kennedy family. Trump hosted the awards ceremony for the first time, appearing in pre-taped introductions from the Oval Office.

The ratings collapse represents the lowest viewership since CBS began broadcasting the ceremony in 1978, with the 2.65 million figure potentially rising to only the mid-3 million range even with standard post-release adjustments. Demographic ratings proved equally disastrous, with a 0.14 rating roughly half of the 2024 broadcast.

Board Vote Sparks Immediate Lawsuit

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Representative Joyce Beatty of Ohio, an ex-officio member of the Kennedy Center board, filed a federal lawsuit December 23 challenging the renaming as illegal. The suit alleges the December 18 board vote to change the institution’s name to “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts” violated federal law.

“Because Congress named the center by statute, changing the Kennedy Center’s name requires an act of Congress. But on December 18 and 19, 2025, in scenes more reminiscent of authoritarian regimes than the American republic, the sitting President and his handpicked loyalists renamed this storied center after President Trump.”

Beatty’s lawsuit claims she was muted during the virtual board meeting when she attempted to voice opposition, preventing her from participating in the vote that was falsely declared unanimous. The suit describes the meeting as a “thinly-veiled sham” orchestrated by Trump and his loyalists.

“President Trump and his cronies must not be allowed to trample federal law and bypass Congress to feed his ego. This entire process has been a complete disgrace to this cherished institution and the people it serves.”

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Workers affixed Trump’s name to the building’s facade on December 19, one day after the board vote, with signage reading “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”

Kennedy Family Condemns Name Change

Former Representative Joseph Kennedy III, grandnephew of the late president, sharply criticized the move in a December 18 statement.

“The Kennedy Center is a living memorial to a fallen president and named for President Kennedy by federal law. It can no sooner be renamed than can someone rename the Lincoln Memorial, no matter what anyone says.”

President Lyndon Johnson signed legislation in 1964 designating the National Cultural Center as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts following Kennedy’s 1963 assassination. Federal law requires the board to ensure that after December 2, 1983, “no additional memorials or plaques in the nature of memorials shall be designated or installed in the public areas” of the center.

Legal experts told CNN the board’s decision was likely unlawful, though questions remain about legal standing to challenge it. Georgetown Law professor David Super, who specializes in legislation, stated “there is absolutely no way they can do this legally,” but added the administration “is not concerning itself with laws unless it has a realistic prospect of getting sued.”

Six Democratic lawmakers serving as ex-officio board members issued a joint statement pledging to hold the administration accountable for violating federal law.

CBS Edited Trump’s Remarks

CBS significantly reduced Trump’s opening remarks for the broadcast, cutting his monologue from approximately 12 minutes to just two minutes, according to reports. The network also declined to use the new “Trump-Kennedy Center” name during the telecast, continuing to refer to the venue by its legal designation.

Producer Robert Deaton treated the ceremony similar to the Country Music Awards format, with Trump delivering pre-taped introductions while seated behind his Oval Office desk rather than standing, according to entertainment industry publication Showbiz411.

Trump had bragged on Truth Social before the broadcast that the renaming came “at the request of the Board, and just about everybody else in America,” asking followers to evaluate his “Master of Ceremony abilities.”

The president previously teased the name change in an August Truth Social post, writing “GREAT Nominees for the TRUMP/KENNEDY CENTER, whoops, I mean, KENNEDY CENTER.”

Programming Changes Under Trump Board

Trump abruptly shuffled the Kennedy Center board of trustees earlier in 2025, appointing loyalists who then elected him board chair. The reconstituted board changed center programming, effectively canceling some Pride gatherings and shifting the institution’s cultural focus.

This year’s honorees reflected Trump’s influence, with the president claiming he was “98 percent involved” in selecting recipients. Awardees included Sylvester Stallone, rock band KISS, and Gloria Gaynor, representing a departure from the center’s traditional honoree profile.

The White House defended the renaming through spokesperson Liz Huston, claiming Trump “stepped up and saved the old Kennedy Center by strengthening its finances, modernizing the building, and ending divisive woke programming.”

Trump told reporters December 18 the center is experiencing “record-setting numbers” in donors under his chairmanship, stating “we’re saving the building” from physical and financial deterioration.

Beatty’s lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and handled by Democracy Defenders Action and the Washington Litigation Group, seeks a declaration that the center’s legal name remains “John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts” and that the board vote was null and void.

When a presidential memorial loses more than a third of its audience after being renamed for a sitting president who appoints himself board chair, is the public sending a message about the appropriateness of self-aggrandizement?

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