According to the Washington Post, film icon Tom Cruise has reportedly declined a Kennedy Center "Lifetime Achievement Award" from Donald Trump. Cruise was scheduled to receive the award in December during the star-studded live TV event honoring the metal band Kiss, Broadway star Michael Crawford, country music legend George Strait, singer Gloria Gaynor, and actors Sylvester Stallone, Mel Gibson, and Jon Voight.
Cruise's camp reportedly canceled on Trump due to "scheduling conflicts." While that may sound like a feeble excuse, the 63-year-old Cruise is one of the busiest actors in the business. He's also one of the most private. He reportedly micromanages his life.
"Tom micromanages every detail of his life; anyone close to him always has loads of paperwork and NDAs to sign," a source said, per Star Magazine. That kind of mania to protect himself has led to very circumspect statements about his political beliefs.
He could probably make the ceremony honoring him, but his care concerning his public persona demonstrates that, unlike Taylor Swift, he has a keen sense of the public's tolerance for anything political coming from Hollywood celebrities. Swift's tone-deaf criticism of Trump offended millions of potential fans and allowed Trump to bash her mercilessly.
"I'm interested in terms of looking at how it's going to affect my kids. And it's more from a humanitarian aspect, not political. You know, the future of the country, and where we are today," Cruise told CBS News in 2018.
Pleasant, safe, and inoffensive comments such as this from Cruise are why he remains at the top of Hollywood's "good guy" list. His woke compatriots in Hollywood will read into Cruise's refusal to appear with Trump any way they wish.
Cruise is one of the most visible Scientologists in America, but he never mixes his religion with politics. In fact, Tom Cruise is a political cipher. He has given money to candidates in both parties, but never overtly endorses any candidate. In today's political climate, that's probably the wisest move he can make.
Meanwhile, Trump made it clear who was most responsible for selecting nominees.
"The 48th Kennedy Center Honorees are outstanding people, incredible, we can't wait… in a few short months since I became chairman of the board, the Kennedy Center, we've completely reversed the decline of this cherished national institution," he said in his speech Wednesday.
When reporters asked Trump how involved he was in selecting the 2025 honorees, he didn’t hold back.
"I was about 98% involved… they all came through me," he said.
Trump explained he personally greenlit each honoree, and made it known that some didn’t make the cut.
"I turned down plenty, they were too woke… I had a couple of wokesters. No, we have great people. This is very different than it used to be."
Trump's takeover of important cultural institutions such as the Smithsonian and the Kennedy Center shows that he sees his presidency transcending politics and becoming a rallying point for conservative cultural battles far into the future.
It will be controversial, which is probably why Cruise is staying away from the Kennedy Center honors.
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