{"id":21045,"date":"2025-12-10T04:49:29","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T04:49:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/?p=21045"},"modified":"2025-12-10T04:49:29","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T04:49:29","slug":"exclusive-kiss-bassist-gene-simmons-praises-trumps-oval-office-decor-as-terrific-says-it-used-to-be-drab","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/?p=21045","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive: KISS Bassist Gene Simmons Praises Trump\u2019s Oval Office D\u00e9cor as \u2018Terrific,\u2019 Says It \u2018Used to Be Drab\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

KISS bassist Gene Simmons offered high praise for President Donald Trump\u2019s Oval Office during a red-carpet interview at the Kennedy Center Honors on Sunday. Simmons, whose band KISS was among the honorees, spoke briefly with Breitbart News ahead of the main program. When asked about receiving the honor from the president and his thoughts on the newly-styled Oval Office\u2014now featuring numerous presidential portraits and gold trimming\u2014Simmons was unequivocally positive.<\/span><\/p>\n

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‘It\u2019s Coming Alive’<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

He first commented on the honor itself, saying of KISS being presented with their Kennedy Center honoree medals on Saturday night, “It doesn\u2019t suck.” He then directly compared Trump\u2019s Oval Office to earlier versions under former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Simmons deemed the current iteration “terrific.” “It used to be a drab,” he explained to Breitbart News. “I\u2019ve been here through Mr. Clinton and Mr. Bush, and it used to be a pretty drab place. It\u2019s coming alive. I think it\u2019s great.”<\/span><\/p>\n

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Bandmates Share Awe and Gratitude<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Breitbart News also sought comments from Simmons\u2019 bandmates, Paul Stanley and Peter Criss, regarding the White House honor. Paul Stanley described the experience as an “incredible honor” and “surreal.” The rock star reflected on his humble beginnings, stating, “as a kid who grew up with nothing, the idea of being in the White House, the Oval Office, receiving accolades from the president, that\u2019s beyond anything that I could have ever fathomed.” Stanley championed the American Dream, adding that achieving success “is determined by how hard you\u2019re willing to work for it.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Peter Criss called the experience “history.” He shared his awe at the historical significance of the room, recalling his thoughts while there: “I was like, looking at the desk, going, \u2018Well, that\u2019s where Roosevelt sat during the war. That\u2019s where Lincoln sat. That\u2019s where JFK [sat].\u2019” Criss, a self-proclaimed “big JFK kid,” noted the “high” of the visit. He added that the room, which he initially imagined as “ginormous” from movies, was surprisingly small. “It\u2019s a really little room,” he said, “but the history that went on there, the paintings of Lincoln and Washington on the wall, and it was dynamite. It was really cool.” Like Stanley, Criss expressed disbelief: “A kid from Brooklyn, I never thought I\u2019d be in the Oval Office sitting with the president of the United States.”<\/span><\/p>\n

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A Moment of Silence<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Ace Frehley, the fourth original member of KISS who sadly passed away in October, was also remembered during the program with a moment of silence.<\/span><\/p>\n