Members of the Kennedy family reacted with anger over the decision by the board of the Kennedy Center to rename the arts institution as the “Trump Kennedy Center.”
Tim Shriver, nephew of John F. Kennedy, wrote on X, “Perhaps the board isn’t aware that the Kennedy Center is 𝗧𝗛𝗘 memorial to the president of the United States, John F. Kennedy. Would they rename the Lincoln memorial? The Jefferson? That would be an insult to great presidents. This too is an insult to a great president. Notwithstanding their short-sighted action, it is and will remain the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.”
The Trump-controlled board of the center, which opened in 1971 as a memorial to the late president, voted unanimously on Thursday to rename the complex, according to Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. But the vote was disputed by one of the ex officio members if the board, Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH), who said she was muted at Thursday’s board meeting so she could not raise her concerns with the move.
Maria Shriver, JFK’s niece, wrote, “The Kennedy Center was named after my uncle, President John F Kennedy. It was named in his honor. He was a man who was interested in the arts, interested in culture, interested in education, language, history. He brought the arts into the White House, and he and my Aunt Jackie amplified the arts, celebrated the arts, stood up for the arts and artists.
She added, “It is beyond comprehension that this sitting president has sought to rename this great memorial dedicated to President Kennedy. It is beyond wild that he would think adding his name in front of President Kennedy’s name is acceptable. It is not. 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. This is way beneath the stature of the job. It’s downright weird. It’s obsessive in a weird way. Just when you think somone can’t stoop any lower, down they go…”
Personally, I think the Kennedys should tell them to take the name off if Trump is going to be on it. As soon as a Democrat comes back into office he or she can restore it.
I know Trump is brain dead but the way this works is for someone to be fully expired and in the ground before their names get put on monuments and buildings. This is madness.
Happy Hollandaise everyone!