BACKLASH: Kennedy family, others slam move to rename Kennedy Center

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Members of the Kennedy family, along with many other Democrats, are reacting in fury after the Trump administration announced Thursday afternoon that the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts will be renamed as the Trump-Kennedy Center.

Maria Shriver, a niece to the late former president John F. Kennedy (who was assassinated in November 1963) blasted out the following statement:

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.

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 someone can’t stoop any lower, down they go…

Former Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-Mass.) declared in a post on X, “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.”

Kerry Kennedy, whose father, Robert F. Kennedy, was assassinated as a presidential candidate, wrote:

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.

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.

Meanwhile, Democrat Rep. Joyce Beatty (OH), whose status as a congressional leader gives her an automatic seat on the Kennedy Center board, is speaking out in protest, claiming she opposed the vote but was silenced.  Beatty is slamming White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt for saying the vote was unanimous.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) also blasted the renaming of the prestigious venue, telling reporters, “The Kennedy Center Board has no authority to actually rename the Kennedy Center in the absence of legislative action.”

Former Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.), a Palestinian-American, claimed, “This is not how this works. The name is governed by federal statute.”

President Trump said he was surprised, and honored, that the board voted to rename the building.

Roma Daravi, the vice president of public relations at the Kennedy Center, announced on X:

“The Kennedy Center Board of Trustees voted unanimously today to name the institution The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. The unanimous vote recognizes that the current Chairman saved the institution from financial ruin and physical destruction. The new Trump Kennedy Center reflects the unequivocal bipartisan support for America’s cultural center for generations to come.”

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