Biden at the Kennedy Center Reception: U2 Sold '150 Albums,' Plus Three White House Corrections (December 4, 2022)

President Joe Biden was toasting the band U2 at the White House when the numbers got away from him. “Twenty-two Grammy’s. Forty-six nominations. More wins than any group in history. A hundred and fifty million albums. A hundred and fifty albums sold, among the most ever,” he said [1].

It was not the only slip. The official transcript of his remarks that night carries three White House corrections in brackets, for Gladys Knight, Amy Grant and Tania León [1].

The video above shows the U2 line from Biden’s Dec. 4, 2022, reception for the Kennedy Center honorees, held before the Kennedy Center Honors show. Quotes are from the official transcript published by the American Presidency Project [1].

”A Hundred and Fifty Albums Sold”

Biden called the four members of U2 “sons of Ireland” and quoted the lead singer. “And to quote my friend Bono, ‘Music can change the world because it can change people,’” he said. “For more than 40 years, U2 has changed the world” [1].

Then came the list of achievements and the album count, first as “a hundred and fifty million albums,” then as “a hundred and fifty albums sold, among the most ever” [1].

He added a family line he said he had been credited with: “The Irish are the only people in the world who are always nostalgic about the future” [1].

Three White House Corrections

The transcript shows the White House fixing three more slips in the same speech:

Gladys Knight. Biden praised “the one and only Express [Empress; White House correction] of Soul, Gladys Knight” [1].
Amy Grant. Hailing “the first contemporary Christian artist to be number one on the pop charts,” he said “her Christian [Christmas; White House correction] songs are played on repeat in millions of homes across America” [1].
Tania León. Recalling the Cuban-born composer’s journey to America, Biden said: “It was President Kennedy who laid the groundwork for the Freedom Flights that brought Tiana [Tania; White House correction] to America” [1].

”Amal Clooney’s Husband”

He opened the tributes with a joke at George Clooney’s expense. “In ‘We the People,’ we see character. We see Amal Clooney’s husband,” Biden said, to laughter [1].

He then turned serious, praising Clooney as “one of the most celebrated actors, directors, producers, and screenwriters of our time” and recounting how, “after missing his dream of playing baseball for the Cincinnati Reds,” he chased “a new dream in Hollywood.” “You think he’s joking; I’m not joking,” Biden added. He said Clooney “travels to war zones to end genocides and war crimes, exposes war profiteers, helps refugees, and advances the rights of journalists” [1].

”Every One of Her Songs on My Phone”

On Gladys Knight, Biden got personal. “I told her I think I have about every one of her songs on my phone,” he said, to laughter, adding: “She was only 12 when she was making them” [1].

He listed her record: “After over 6 decades, 7 Grammy’s, 20 nominations, including the best Gospel album; 11 number-one R&B singles—singles; 6 number-one R&B albums; 2 number-one top Billboard hits” [1].

Thanks to the Board

Biden opened the night by thanking the people who ran the Kennedy Center. “And a special thanks to our friend David Rubenstein. David, you’ve become a friend. David is Chairman of the Board of the Kennedy Center,” he said, and he thanked the center’s president, Deborah Rutter [1].

By the Numbers

150 million: the U2 album sales Biden first cited, before he said “a hundred and fifty albums” [1].
22: Grammys he credited to U2 [1].
3: White House corrections in the transcript, for Knight, Grant and León [1].
5: honorees that year: Clooney, Grant, Knight, León and U2 [1].
1971: the year the Kennedy Center opened in Washington [2].
2,000-plus: performances the center puts on in a typical year, according to its website [2].

What Happened Next

Trump took over the Kennedy Center. In February 2025, a newly constituted board of the Kennedy Center elected President Donald Trump as its chairman. The vote, according to the president, was unanimous. “It is a Great Honor to be Chairman of The Kennedy Center, especially with this amazing Board of Trustees. We will make The Kennedy Center a very special and exciting place!” Trump said [2].

He was blunt about why. “So we took over the Kennedy Center. We didn’t like what they were showing and various other things,” Trump told reporters. “I’m going to be chairman of it, and we’re going to make sure that it’s good and it’s not going to be woke. There’s no more woke in this country.” He named Ric Grenell to lead the center on a temporary basis, and the new board included second lady Usha Vance and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles [2].

Trump hosted the Honors. In December 2025, Trump hosted the Kennedy Center Honors, the first time a president hosted rather than watching from the audience with the honorees. The honorees were Sylvester Stallone, Kiss, Gloria Gaynor, Michael Crawford and George Strait. Trump called them “among the greatest artists and actors, performers, musicians, singers, songwriters ever to walk the face of the Earth,” the AP reported [3].