Hollywood, famously socially liberal what with its short skirts and jazz music, etc., has endless amounts of Donald Trump critics, from the “overrated†Meryl Streep to the “filthy mouthed†Chrissy Teigen. That’s probably why after three years in office, Trump is just now finding some supporters to bestow the National Medal of Arts upon. After skipping 2017 and 2018, the White House announced that Trump has chosen actor Jon Voight, novelist James Patterson, president and chief executive officer of WETA (a Washington, D.C. public-broadcasting channel) Sharon Percy Rockefeller, and bluegrass singer Alison Krauss to receive the presidential honor. He also awarded all five military bands. Two years is the longest a president has ever gone without awarding the medals in 35 years, according to The Atlantic. The National Endowment for the Arts, which presents the awards, has been under fire throughout the Trump administration. In all three of their annual budgets, the administration has proposed eliminating the endowment’s funding. (Congress has ignored the proposals.)
Voight has been vocally supportive of Trump since his election in 2016. Most recently, he decried the impeachment inquiry in a video testimonial posted on Twitter with “May The Truth Prevail.†Sounds like a line from Star Wars, but — make no mistake — Voight is very serious.
He and the other recipients will accept the award at a ceremony planned for Thursday at the White House. Maybe Kanye West will bring his Sunday Service by.