After the White House announced that the board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts — the official, “living memorial” to the late president — voted to rename the iconic cultural institution the Trump-Kennedy Center, several members of the Kennedy family took the opportunity to denounce the move.

Earlier this year, just weeks after he was sworn into office, President Donald Trump removed members of the board of the Kennedy Center and replaced them with allies and administration officials, including Richard Grenell, Pam Bondi, and Susie Wiles. The new board then voted Trump to become chairman of the Kennedy Center.

Now, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, there will be a new name as well. Legal scholars note that because the Kennedy Center was named by federal statute, any formal name change would require an act of Congress.

READ MORE: Warnock Fires Back at Trump With Bible Study Invite

Maria Shriver, the former First Lady of California, wrote: “The Kennedy Center was named after my uncle, President John F Kennedy.”

She called the renaming “beyond comprehension,” “beyond wild,” “downright weird,” and “obsessive in a weird way,” while explaining that the Kennedy Center was named in honor of a man who was interested in the arts, culture, education, language, and history.

“Next thing perhaps he will want to rename JFK Airport, rename the Lincoln Memorial, the Trump Lincoln Memorial. The Trump Jefferson Memorial. The Trump Smithsonian. The list goes on.”

“Can we not see what is happening here? C’mon, my fellow Americans! Wake up! This is not dignified. This is not funny,” she said. “Just when you think [someone] can’t stoop any lower, down they go…”

Kerry Kennedy, daughter of the late Robert F. Kennedy and the niece of the late president, John F. Kennedy, issued a statement denouncing the development.

READ MORE: ‘Robbing Peter to Pay Paul’: Trump Diverts Congress-Approved Funds for ‘Warrior Dividend’

“President Trump and his administration have spent the past year repressing free expression, targeting artists, journalists, and comedians, and erasing the history of Americans whose contributions made our nation better and more just,” she argued. “President Kennedy proudly stood for justice, peace, equality, dignity, diversity, and compassion for those who suffer. President Trump stands in opposition to these values, and his name should not be placed alongside President Kennedy’s.”

Tim Shriver, son of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, said the board appeared to misunderstand the significance of the institution.

“Perhaps the board isn’t aware that the Kennedy Center is THE memorial to the president of the United States, John F. Kennedy,” he remarked.

Shriver called the move “an insult to a great president” and “short-sighted,” adding that regardless of the board’s action, the institution “is and will remain the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.”

Joe Kennedy III, the former U.S. Congressman, added, “The Kennedy Center is a living memorial to a fallen president and named for President Kennedy by federal law. It can no sooner be renamed than can someone rename the Lincoln Memorial, no matter what anyone says.”

READ MORE: ‘With a Grain of Salt’: Urging Caution on Inflation Report Economists Warn of Missing Data

Image via Reuters

The White House came under immediate fire after announcing that the board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, chaired by President Donald Trump, voted to rename the iconic cultural institution the Trump-Kennedy Center. It is unclear if the new name is lawful.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote, “I have just been informed that the highly respected Board of the Kennedy Center, some of the most successful people from all parts of the world, have just voted unanimously to rename the Kennedy Center to the Trump-Kennedy Center, because of the unbelievable work President Trump has done over the last year in saving the building.”

“Not only from the standpoint of its reconstruction, but also financially, and its reputation,” she added. “Congratulations to President Donald J. Trump, and likewise, congratulations to President Kennedy, because this will be a truly great team long into the future! The building will no doubt attain new levels of success and grandeur.”

READ MORE: Warnock Fires Back at Trump With Bible Study Invite

Less than one month after he was sworn into office, President Trump dismissed the board of the Kennedy Center and installed some of his close confidants, including Richard Grenell and Susie Wiles. He also dismissed board members who had been nominated by President Joe Biden.

“Officials did not immediately cite an authority for the board’s ability to change the institution’s name,” The Washington Post reported on Thursday. It is possible any change would require congressional approval.

Critics were quick to register concerns.

Punchbowl News co-founder Jake Sherman noted, “The building is statutorily named the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Congress did not give the board the authority to change the name.”

Associated Press reporter Mike Sisak observed: “A living memorial to a slain president is being co-opted into a living tribute to the current president.”

READ MORE: ‘Robbing Peter to Pay Paul’: Trump Diverts Congress-Approved Funds for ‘Warrior Dividend’

Dartmouth political scientist Brendan Nyhan added, “A vast and growing authoritarian cult of personality. Literally un-American in its lack of fealty to the norms of the country going back to Washington himself.”

Spectrum News national political reporter Taylor Popielarz remarked: “First, President Trump:
– Took over the Kennedy Center board
– Named himself chair
– Fired its members
– Installed allies to it
– Hosted the Kennedy Center Honors
Now, the board votes to rename the performing arts center after…Trump.”

U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH), an ex officio member of the board, expressed her concerns on social media, and said that she and others were not allowed to speak on the call.

“Participants were not allowed to voice their concerns,” she noted.

For the record. This was not unanimous. I was muted on the call and not allowed to speak or voice my opposition to this move. Also for the record, this was not on the agenda. This was not consensus. This is censorship. https://t.co/D1zGV7xiWV pic.twitter.com/npNvSIy6sV

— Rep. Joyce Beatty (@RepBeatty) December 18, 2025

READ MORE: ‘With a Grain of Salt’: Urging Caution on Inflation Report Economists Warn of Missing Data

Image via Reuters

A prominent Democratic U.S. senator answered President Donald Trump’s attack with an unusual response: come to church to “meet the Jesus I know.”

On Wednesday, President Trump accused Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA), who is also the Senior Pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, of “using Religion to try and divide the Country!”

Trump said that after appearing on “Meet the Press,” Senator Warnock “ended by saying that he was going to his Church to preach now, and while I think that’s fine, I do say, ‘What ever happened to separation of Church and State?'”

READ MORE: ‘Robbing Peter to Pay Paul’: Trump Diverts Congress-Approved Funds for ‘Warrior Dividend’

“That would be the first thing they would use against us but, actually, it’s something that never much bothered me,” Trump wrote, before labeling Warnock “a bad guy.”

The president went on to attack NBC News and ABC News, charging that they “should be ashamed of themselves in allowing garbage ‘interviews’ with untalented and uncaring people to take place.”

In a statement reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Greg Bluestein, Warnock said that on “Meet the Press,” he “discussed his recent address at the Center for American Progress on healing America’s spiritual crisis by restoring economic opportunity for millions of Americans.”

“He’s got a lot of nerve,” Warnock then said of Trump.

READ MORE: ‘With a Grain of Salt’: Urging Caution on Inflation Report Economists Warn of Missing Data

“Remember, this is the same president who literally had peaceful protesters gassed and beaten so he could stand in front of a church holding a Bible up,” Warnock charged.

“He ought to read that Bible that he was holding up on that day. That Bible says that Jesus came to preach good news to the poor. He came to heal the sick. He never billed them for his services. He stood up for the weak, the marginalized, average, ordinary people,” he wrote.

“Mr. President,” Warnock declared, “my faith is not a weapon, it’s a bridge, and I invite you to Bible study. Maybe you can meet the Jesus I know.”

READ MORE: Trump Reveals White House’s ‘Primary’ Policy Goal — And It Isn’t Cutting Costs

Image via Shutterstock