During a speech to troops on Thursday, Donald Trump described Tom Cruise as ‘the last of our movie stars’ but then realized he hadn’t mentioned his supporter, Sylvester Stallone
Donald Trump participated in a video call with service members from his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida
Donald Trump accidentally humiliated Sylvester Stallone while describing Tom Cruise as “the last of our movie stars.”
During his Thanksgiving speech to troops, which he did via video from his Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago, the president started talking about Hollywood celebrities while praising the pilots who flew the bombing mission on Iran’s nuclear facilities earlier this year. Trump, 79, said “a lot” of them had been “handsome” and “looked like Tom Cruise.”
The president said during his address, “They looked like Tom Cruise, actually, it was very good casting, but I like Tom Cruise. The last of our movie stars probably.”
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Shortly after, however, Trump realized he hadn’t mentioned Stallone, 79, who has shown significant public support for the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement and the president himself, previously describing the Republican politician as a “mythical character” and “the second George Washington.” After realizing his blunder during his speech on Thursday, Trump added, “But, uhh, although we’re honoring Sylvester Stallone in a little while at the Kennedy Center, so I’m going to put him in that same category. We have Sylvester Stallone and Tom Cruise.”
Sylvester Stallone is a MAGA supporter(Image: Variety via Getty Images)
During an America First Policy Conference event at Mar-a-Lago in November last year, Stallone delivered a speech praising Trump’s character and comparing his election victory to the journey of his iconic character, Rocky Balboa. Then in January, it was announced that Trump had selected Stallone, along with Mel Gibson and Jon Voight, to serve as “ambassadors” to Hollywood.
The president tasked the trio with revamping the iconic film industry hub to be “bigger, better and stronger than ever before.” Describing Hollywood as a “great but very troubled place” that’s “lost much business… to foreign countries,” the leader declared it was his “honor” to appoint “these three very talented people.”
He enthused, “It will again be, like The United States of America itself, The Golden Age of Hollywood!” Trump praised the actors, all staunch supporters, saying they “will be my eyes and ears, and I will get done what they suggest.”
It has been claimed that Trump wanted to unveil Cruise, 63, as one of his Kennedy Center honorees, but the actor declined, according to The Washington Post. The president ultimately named Rocky actor Stallone, country music star George Strait, singer Gloria Gaynor, the rock band Kiss and actor-singer Michael Crawford.
Trump greeting Stallone on stage at the America First Policy Institute Gala held at Mar-a-Lago on November 14, 2024(Image: Getty Images)
The Kennedy Center Honors were established in 1978 and have been given to a broad range of artists. Until Trump’s first term, presidents of both major political parties traditionally attended the annual ceremony, even when they disagreed politically with a given recipient.
Prominent liberals such as Barbra Streisand and Warren Beatty were honored during the administration of Republican George W. Bush and a leading conservative, Charlton Heston, was feted during the administration of Democrat Bill Clinton.
Apart from Stallone’s support of MAGA, founding Kiss member Ace Frehley endorsed Trump in 2020, calling him “the strongest leader we’ve got.” Meanwhile, fellow Kiss musician Paul Stanley has often criticized the Republican president, notably his resistance to accepting his election loss to Democrat Joe Biden in 2020.
This year’s Kennedy Center Honors ceremony will take place on December 7 and will air on CBS and stream on Paramount+.