In a night filled with political moments — including multiple nods to President Biden, a Grateful Dead tribute from former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and accolades for performers-turned-activists — there was scant mention at the Kennedy Center Honors of President-elect Trump's return to office and what it could mean for the annual awards gala.

The 47th annual Honors ceremony recognized four artists and an organization with its lifetime achievement award on Sunday in Washington, D.C.: singer Bonnie Raitt, trumpet player Arturo Sandoval, director Francis Ford Coppola, Harlem theater The Apollo and the Grateful Dead.

The ceremony, attended by President Biden, kicked off by honoring the commander in chief's "service to the nation with a special performance" of the national anthem. Shortly after the packed crowd inside the Kennedy Center stood for the Star-Spangled Banner, a member of the audience shouted, "We love you, Joe!"

As Queen Latifah, the night's emcee, took to the stage, the rapper and actor said, "I was born in Newark, N.J., in 1970 in the midst of political turmoil in a nation reeling from crisis after crisis. You could say it was a heavy time for our country — though maybe looking around it feels a little bit like right now."

It was one of several subtle references to the current political climate throughout the Honors ceremony, airing Dec. 22 on........

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