O'Brien, 61, was named the 26th recipient of the Mark Twain Prize in mid-January, about three weeks before President Trump upended the Kennedy Center by ousting longtime president Deborah Rutter and board chairman David Rubenstein. Mr. Trump dismissed the board of trustees and replaced them with loyalists, who then elected him as chairman.

Conan O'Brien received the Mark Twain prize for humor in ceremony that drew Sarah Silverman, Will Ferrell, David Letterman and Stephen Colbert to the embattled Kennedy Center, setting the stage for Trump zingers.

It was a night of comedy following a heavy dose of drama at the Kennedy Center, as performers honoring Conan O’Brien at the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor lined up to rebuke President