In case you hadn’t heard, Donald Trump wants to rebrand the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. to bear his own name. Originally named in honor of slain President John F. Kennedy, Trump wants the performing arts center renamed to honor himself. And now that rebrand is one step closer.
“The highly respected Board of the Kennedy Center [has] just voted unanimously to rename the Kennedy Center to the Trump-Kennedy Center,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced on December 18. “Congratulations to President Donald J. Trump, and likewise, congratulations to President Kennedy, because this will be a truly great team long into the future!”
After the news broke, it didn’t take long for several members of the Kennedy family to express their dismay over the decision.
The Kennedy Center is now The Trump Kennedy Center
Kennedy’s niece, Maria Shriver, questioned why Trump wants his name on the performing arts center. “Perhaps he will want to rename JFK Airport, [or] rename the Lincoln Memorial, the Trump Lincoln Memorial,” the former California First Lady wrote on Instagram. “The Trump Jefferson Memorial. The Trump Smithsonian. The list goes on … Just when you think someone can’t stoop any lower, down they go…”
Likewise, Kennedy’s only grandson and namesake John Bouvier Kennedy (“Jack”) Schlossberg spoke out against the rebrand. “SEND ME TO CONGRESS TO SMOKE THESE FOOLS,” the candidate for New York’s 12th Congressional District also responded on Instagram. “MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD LOUD AND CLEAR – I won’t back down or be drowned out.”
Another of the late president’s nephews, Joe Kennedy III, brought up a good point via X (formerly Twitter). “The Kennedy Center is a living memorial to a fallen president and named for President Kennedy by federal law,” he pointed out. “It can no sooner be renamed than can someone rename the Lincoln Memorial, no matter what anyone says.”
Similar to Trump’s tearing down the East Wing of the White House for his fancy ballroom, the renaming seems to be just another “vanity project.” And it’s just about as popular.
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