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From “I Will Survive” to “I Approve This Message.” It’s disco versus dissent in a MAGA spotlight.

From “I Will Survive” to “I Approve This Message”

Gloria Gaynor, disco’s defiant queen and voice of resilience, is now the face of Donald Trump’s rebranded Kennedy Center Honors. The irony isn’t lost on anyone who’s ever danced to “I Will Survive” at a protest. But in Trump’s version of cultural prestige, survival means alignment. Gaynor’s inclusion is both a headline grab and a strategic contradiction.

Trump announced the honorees, including Gloria Gaynor, Kiss, Sylvester Stallone, George Strait, and Michael Crawford. The press conference felt more like a campaign rally than a cultural celebration.

“We ended the woke political programming,” he declared, after firing the entire board and installing loyalists like Maria Bartiromo and Laura Ingraham. “We’re going slightly more conservative, if you don’t mind,” he added, as if the Kennedy Center were a reality show in need of a ratings boost.

Kiss, Strait, Stallone: Icons Recast as Ideological Props

Gene Simmons of Kiss once said Trump “got all the cockroaches to rise to the top.”

“Got all the cockroaches to rise to the top.” — Gene Simmons, on Trump

Now he’s accepting an honor from the same man, alongside bandmates who haven’t shared a stage since 2014. The quote didn’t make the press release. It lingers like feedback after a farewell tour.

George Strait, long apolitical, broke out Trump’s signature dance move at a Las Vegas concert last year. It wasn’t a speech, but it was a signal. Signals are currency in Trump’s world.

Stallone, meanwhile, went full mythmaker. “We’re in the presence of a really mythical character,” he said, comparing Trump to George Washington. Rambo meets MAGA. It’s a crossover nobody asked for, but everyone’s watching.

Gaynor’s Legacy, Repackaged

Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” has long been a queer anthem, a feminist rallying cry, and a soundtrack to resistance. Trump called it “an unbelievable song,” seemingly unaware of its cultural lineage. Her inclusion is either a masterstroke of irony or a strategic softening, a disco halo for a partisan gala.

The Hollywood Reporter notes that Trump was “98 percent involved” in the selection process. Gone is the bipartisan advisory committee. In its place: a chairman who curates honorees like casting a reboot.

The Kennedy Center, Rebranded

This isn’t just a gala. It’s a transformation. The Kennedy Center, once a sanctuary for artistic excellence, now risks becoming a stage for ideological theater. Trump didn’t attend the Honors during his first term. Norman Lear and others refused to share the room. Now, he’s not just attending. He’s hosting, selecting, and narrating.

The CBC reports that Trump’s announcement mixed praise for Republican senators with self-congratulation and cultural revisionism. The gala, set for December and televised on CBS, is poised to be less about performance and more about positioning.

When Gloria Gaynor sings “I Will Survive” under Trump’s spotlight, it’s not just disco that’s being repurposed. It’s the very definition of cultural honor.

~ * ~ Stay tuned, stay savage, stay sparkly — Holly out. ~ * ~