Below Is Taken From A Quora Post
The guest list for the premiere of Melania Trump’s movie at the Kennedy Center has reportedly leaked, and it’s hard not to cringe a little. The Trump family seems to be merging personal vanity with a high-profile venue by staging a big debut for a project simply titled Melania. On paper, it’s meant to look grand. In reality, the names attached tell a very different story.
Instead of respected figures from film, music, or the arts, the lineup reads like a random grab bag of cable TV personalities and internet-era curiosities. There’s Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz, both more famous for daytime television than cultural achievement. Waka Flocka Flame, whose peak relevance was over a decade ago, is apparently on the list too. Then you have a social media “magician,” Pete Anthony Sciarrino III, Fox News host Maria Bartiromo, and Jordan Belfort the convicted fraudster whose life inspired The Wolf of Wall Street. It’s not exactly the crowd one associates with the Kennedy Center’s legacy.
Alongside them are the people who more or less have to show up: administration figures like Pete Hegseth, Usha Vance, Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel (plus his girlfriend), and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has become more known for his conspiracy-laced opinions than anything else. The whole thing feels less like a cultural event and more like a loyalty roll call mixed with celebrity leftovers.
The contrast with past Kennedy Center events is striking. During Barack Obama’s presidency, the honors featured genuinely iconic American artists and performers people like Mel Brooks, Bruce Springsteen, Meryl Streep, Yo-Yo Ma, Neil Diamond, James Taylor, Mavis Staples, and Al Pacino. Those nights celebrated decades of influence, creativity, and contribution to American culture.
It’s hard not to imagine Donald Trump sitting in the audience, stewing over that comparison. Obama got evenings filled with legends admired across generations. Trump gets a screening of a movie few people asked for, surrounded by faded TV personalities and novelty acts.
An A-list this is not. It’s technically a list, sure but that’s about as generous as it gets.
The guest list for the premiere of Melania Trump’s movie at the Kennedy Center has reportedly leaked, and it’s hard not to cringe a little. The Trump family seems to be merging personal vanity with a high-profile venue by staging a big debut for a project simply titled Melania. On paper, it’s meant to look grand. In reality, the names attached tell a very different story.
Instead of respected figures from film, music, or the arts, the lineup reads like a random grab bag of cable TV personalities and internet-era curiosities. There’s Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz, both more famous for daytime television than cultural achievement. Waka Flocka Flame, whose peak relevance was over a decade ago, is apparently on the list too. Then you have a social media “magician,” Pete Anthony Sciarrino III, Fox News host Maria Bartiromo, and Jordan Belfort the convicted fraudster whose life inspired The Wolf of Wall Street. It’s not exactly the crowd one associates with the Kennedy Center’s legacy.
Alongside them are the people who more or less have to show up: administration figures like Pete Hegseth, Usha Vance, Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel (plus his girlfriend), and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has become more known for his conspiracy-laced opinions than anything else. The whole thing feels less like a cultural event and more like a loyalty roll call mixed with celebrity leftovers.
The contrast with past Kennedy Center events is striking. During Barack Obama’s presidency, the honors featured genuinely iconic American artists and performers people like Mel Brooks, Bruce Springsteen, Meryl Streep, Yo-Yo Ma, Neil Diamond, James Taylor, Mavis Staples, and Al Pacino. Those nights celebrated decades of influence, creativity, and contribution to American culture.
It’s hard not to imagine Donald Trump sitting in the audience, stewing over that comparison. Obama got evenings filled with legends admired across generations. Trump gets a screening of a movie few people asked for, surrounded by faded TV personalities and novelty acts.
An A-list this is not. It’s technically a list, sure but that’s about as generous as it gets.
