Former Massachusetts Democratic Representative Joseph Kennedy III made a very important point when he explained why the name of the Kennedy Center can't just be changed on a whim after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that the Kennedy Center Board had voted to rename the performing arts center the "Trump-Kennedy Center."
Congress officially named the center after former President John F. Kennedy in 1964, following his assassination. According to Donald A. Ritchie, who served as Senate historian from 2009 to 2015, because Congress bestowed the name, only Congress has the authority to legally change it.
Ritchie noted that while Trump and others can casually refer to it by another name, such usage would carry no legal weight. Even so, the board chose not to wait for any formal resolution. It promptly updated its website branding to reflect the new title.
In a post on X, Leavitt announced:
"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. 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."
You can see her post below.
In response to her post, Kennedy—the grandnephew of the late President Kennedy—wrote:
"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."
You can see his post below.
Jake Sherman, the head of Punchbowl News, also stressed this point:
"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."
You can see his post below.
Many criticized Leavitt and the Trump administration and emphasized this fact themselves.
Other Kennedy family members have also spoken out against the change.
In a post on X, Kennedy’s niece, former television journalist Maria Shriver, said that "some things leave you speechless, and enraged, and in a state of disbelief. At times such as that, it’s better to be quiet. For how long, I can’t say."
Shriver also said "TDS is on full display," referring to the "Trump Derangement Syndrome" insult Trump uses to attack his critics, most recently the famed film director Rob Reiner, who was murdered earlier this week.
You can see her post below.
Shriver also called on Americans to reject the name change, drawing attention to Trump's obsession with himself and branding his name on everything, writing in part:
“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.”
“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…”
You can see her post below.
Additionally, Shriver’s brother, disability rights activist and film producer Timothy Shriver, said that board members who approved the change might not know that “the Kennedy Center is THE memorial to the president of the United States, John F. Kennedy,” and, like his sister, likened the change to renaming the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials.
Timothy Shriver called the move "an insult to a great president."
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