Ana Navarro is calling on Gloria Gaynor to turn down an invite into the 2025 class of Kennedy Center Honorees in light of Donald Trump‘s involvement in the awards, with the polarizing president taking over this year’s awards process months after overhauling the institution’s board.
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In a Thursday (Aug. 14) post on Instagram, The View host shared a photo of the disco legend and opened up about her love for Gaynor’s signature hit. “A few years ago, I got to briefly meet @gloriagaynor at a concert in Miami,” she wrote in the caption. “She gifted me a keychain that belted out ‘I Will Survive,’ when you pressed it. Let’s just say, during [the] first Trump term, I pressed it til it ran out of batteries.”
Navarro went on to note the irony of now having to watch the musician whose song gave her comfort amid Trump’s presidency receive an award from the POTUS himself. “Yesterday, Trump announced he picked her to receive a Kennedy Center Honor, which he plans to host,” she continued. “Look, the woman is a goddess and deserves all the flowers that come her way. But I wish she wouldn’t accept an award from the hands of a man who has attacked the rights and history of women, people of color and LGBTQ.”
“The gay community in particular, helped turn her signature song into an anthem,” Navarro added. “Trump is a stain on the prestige and significance of the KCH. Don’t do it, Gloria!”
The political commentator’s post comes one day after the president personally announced this year’s class of Kennedy Center honorees — which includes George Strait, KISS, Michael Crawford and Sylvester Stallone in addition to Gaynor — at a press conference in Washington, D.C. While revealing the list, Trump also claimed to have been “98% involved” in the selection process, adding that he “turned down plenty” of other stars because “they were too woke.”
The twice-impeached commander in chief presiding over the honoree announcements marks just the latest development in his Kennedy Center takeover. In February, Trump fired much of the institution’s board members before assuming the position of chairman, openly stating his intent to remove LGBTQ events from the center’s programming. Months later, he’s decided to host this year’s Kennedy Center Honors, despite being the first president to never attend the ceremony in event history during his first term.
Even so, Gaynor doesn’t appear to be swayed from accepting the honor from Trump. On her Instagram Story, the icon reshared a few posts congratulating her on the Kennedy Center recognition, including one from the White House.