What to Know
As the Trump administration moves to change the name of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to the Trump-Kennedy Center, Maria Shriver is urging other Americans to “wake up” — because this is not OK, and is actually “downright weird.”
The 70-year-old journalist, who is a niece of the late president John F. Kennedy, is not the only member of the Kennedy family who has spoken out against the change. In a post shared to Instagram and X on Thursday, December 18, Shriver called President Donald Trump’s desire to change the name of the Kennedy Center “beyond wild.”
She emphasized that the Kennedy Center is a “great memorial dedicated to President Kennedy.”
And wanting to change that is just “obsessive in a weird way,” Shriver stated in her post. “The Kennedy Center was named after my uncle, President John F Kennedy,” she wrote. “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.”
Given the historical significance of the Kennedy Center, Trump’s desire to change the name is almost unfathomable to her. “It is beyond comprehension that this sitting president has sought to rename this great memorial dedicated to President Kennedy,” Shriver continued. “It is beyond wild that he would think adding his name in front of President Kennedy’s name is acceptable. It is not.”
Plus, she’s worried about what will come next.
Though the Kennedy Center is obviously significant to the Kennedy family, the issue is larger than that for Shriver. In her post, Shriver warned other Americans that Trump is starting with the Kennedy Center, but likely won’t stop there — and that should be concerning to everyone.
“Next thing perhaps he will want to rename JFK Airport, rename the Lincoln Memorial, the Trump Lincoln Memorial,” she warned. “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.”
And as many others pointed out, Trump seems to have reached yet another new low. Shriver wrapped up the post with, “It’s downright weird. It’s obsessive in a weird way. Just when you think someone can’t stoop any lower, down they go…”
Apparently, Trump’s name is already being added to the performing arts center.
Shriver is far from the only person concerned about this decision, which the center’s board (full of members selected by Trump himself) voted in support of on Thursday, December 18. By the morning of Friday, December 19, Trump’s name was already being added to the building, the New York Times reported.
