Trump Spews Eternal Grievance As ‘Kennedy Center Honors’ Host

President Donald Trump reportedly turned his gig as host of the Kennedy Center Honors into a bloviating 12-minute monologue that eventually took aim at one of his favorite targets: “fake news.”

“Now, I will say that I guarantee the fake news is going to give me horrible [reviews],” he said (per Deadline) at Sunday’s taping, which will air Dec. 23 on CBS.

″‘He was horrible as an MC. Don’t ever let that happen again. Don’t ever let it happen,’” Trump continued, quoting the imagined criticism. “But I guarantee you one thing, we get big ratings tonight.”

Trump, who made multiple appearances on stage, said the ceremony was “the greatest night in the history of the Kennedy Center.” At one point, he called the venue “The Trump Kennedy Center,” referring to his apparent desire to rename the complex after himself. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he said in mock embarrassment.

The president also name-checked one of the TV hosting greats as his role model.

“They say this is the first time that a president of the United States has ever hosted this phenomenal event,” Trump said. “… I don’t know why. I am going to try and act like Johnny Carson. I miss Johnny.”

He also tried his hand at roasting the crowd on a night Sylvester Stallone, Gloria Gaynor, the band Kiss, George Strait and Michael Crawford were honored.

“If there is one thread that connects all of these amazing artists together, it is the word persistence,” Trump said. “I can say that with a lot of members of our audience. I know so many of you. You are persistent. Many of you are miserable, horrible people. You are persistent. You never give up. Sometimes I wish you’d give up, but you don’t.”

Rehearsing apparently wasn’t part of his stage strategy.

“I didn’t prepare a lot,” Trump said on the red carpet. “I have a good memory.”

He also stuck in digs at Jimmy Kimmel and former President Joe Biden.

He ranked Kimmel, a persistent critic whom the president’s FCC reportedly helped to push off the air temporarily, among the “not so greats.”

“He was terrible,” Trump said. Kimmel never hosted the Kennedy Center Honors, although he did make an appearance to honor David Letterman.

Asked if any previous presidents could have handled MC duties, Trump said, “I would say the last one would not have done too well. … John F. Kennedy would have done a very good job, mostly.”

Gene Simmons of Kiss may have scored the most ironic statement of the night:

“Whether you’re a fan of the president or not, he’s never boring. The worst thing is to have some bloated person get up there and make long speeches. No matter what he does, this president’s going to be entertaining.”

Trump’s MAGA makeover of the arts institution included his installation as the board chair.

And now he’s just hosted an awards show for a network he recently sued and got a settlement from.