The White House announced on Thursday that its has renamed the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C. as The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.

The center’s Trump-appointed board members unanimously voted for the renaming (after electing Trump as the center’s chairman earlier this year). However, the federal law establishing the building’s name requires that any that official name change be passed through the U.S. Congress’ legislative process.

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In a statement, Roma Daravi, the center’s vice president of public relations, wrote, “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.”

However, Maria Shriver, Kennedy’s neice, criticized the renaming, writing, “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.”

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“Can we not see what is happening here? C’mon, my fellow Americans! Wake up!” she added. “This is not dignified. This is not funny. Just when you think [someone] can’t stoop any lower, down they go…”

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. https://t.co/VpZhNvx7So

— Joe Kennedy III (@joekennedy) December 18, 2025

Tim Shriver, Kennedy’s first cousin, said, “Perhaps the board isn’t aware that the Kennedy Center is THE memorial to the president of the United States, John F. Kennedy.”

Tim Shriver called the renaming a “short-sighted” “insult to a great president” and said that center “is and will remain the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts,” no matter what the board voted for.

Empty seats and plummeting sales have plagued the Kennedy Center since Trump’s takeover. The center’s interim President Ric Grenell is under Senate investigation for corrupt dealings at the center.

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