Maria Shriver is expressing her disappointment over President Donald Trump’s support to rename the Kennedy Center.
“The Kennedy Center was named after my uncle, President John F Kennedy. It was named in his honor,” Shriver, 70, wrote via Instagram on Thursday, December 18. “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.”
Earlier in the day, the board of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., voted to rename it the Trump-Kennedy Center, a spokesperson for the arts institution confirmed to NBC News.
Trump, 79, has previously referred to the cultural institution as the “Trump/Kennedy Center,” writing in an August Truth Social post, “GREAT Nominees for the TRUMP/KENNEDY CENTER, whoops, I mean, KENNEDY CENTER.”
According to Shriver, it is “beyond comprehension” that Trump “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,” she said. “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.”
Shriver continued, “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…”
Other members of the Kennedy family spoke out about the name change, including Kerry Kennedy, who is a niece of the former president and the sister of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“President Kennedy proudly stood for justice, peace, equality, dignity, diversity and compassion for those who suffer,” Kerry, 66, wrote via X on Thursday. “President Trump stands in opposition to these values, and his name should not be placed alongside President Kennedy’s.”
Despite some Kennedy family members sharing their disappointment at the news, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt provided a different point of view.
“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,” she said via X. “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.”
Earlier this week, Shriver joined other celebrities in publicly criticizing Trump for his reaction to Rob Reiner’s death after he claimed the director died because of “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
“I try to rise above the noise all the time, but this individual has no human decency,” Shriver wrote via X on Monday, December 15, after reading Trump’s statement on the passing of Rob and Michele Singer Reiner. “What kind of human being would share a statement like this, much less a president?”
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