“C’mon, my fellow Americans! Wake up! This is not dignified. This is not funny. This is way beneath the stature of the job,” Maria Shriver wrote on Instagram.

Kennedy family members blast Trump renaming of Kennedy Center: ‘It’s downright weird’

"C'mon, my fellow Americans! Wake up! This is not dignified. This is not funny. This is way beneath the stature of the job," Maria Shriver wrote on Instagram.

By Lauren Huff

Lauren Huff

Lauren Huff is an award-winning journalist and staff writer at ** with over 12 years of experience covering all facets of the entertainment industry.

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December 18, 2025 7:38 p.m. ET

Maria Shriver; Donald Trump. Credit:

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The Kennedy family is not pulling any punches with their reaction to the news that the famed Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts would now be known as the "Trump-Kennedy Center."

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that the Kennedy Center Board "unanimously" voted to change the name "because of the unbelievable work President Trump has done over the last year in saving the building." The renaming immediately drew the ire of the political family, with the likes of Robert F. Kennedy's grandson Joe Kennedy III and John F. Kennedy's niece Maria Shriver and his grandson Jack Schlossberg all speaking out.

Shriver, also a longtime journalist and former first lady of California, shared a lengthy post slamming the news on her Instagram Thursday. "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," Shriver began her post.**

"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," she said. "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."**

Joe Kennedy III attends the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights' 2024 Ripple of Hope Gala.

Michael Loccisano/Getty

Shriver continued by suggesting that Trump will want to rename other iconic landmarks after himself next, such as the Lincoln or Jefferson memorials or JFK Airport.**

"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," she said. "It’s obsessive in a weird way. Just when you think somone [sic] can’t stoop any lower, down they go…"

Her remarks followed Joe's, who also used the Lincoln Memorial as an example in his statement. On X, he 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."

Jack Schlossberg speaks during the 2025 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award Ceremony.

JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty

Schlossberg, meanwhile, took the opportunity to question the White House's claims that the vote to change the center's name was unanimous. "KENNEDY CENTER RENAME. Microphones were muted and the board meeting and vote NOT unanimous," he tweeted.

Referring to his recently announced congressional campaign, he continued, "Trump explicitly motivated to act by JACK FOR NEW YORK. Our campaign represents everything Trump can’t stand or defeat."

He further added in a different post on his Instagram, "SEND ME TO CONGRESS TO SMOKE THESE FOOLS — MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD LOUD AND CLEAR — I won’t back down or be drowned out."

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Schlossberg wasn't the only one to question the claim, though. Ohio Rep. Joyce Beatty also contested Leavitt’s version of events in her own social media post. “For the record. This was not unanimous,” she wrote. “I was muted on the call and not allowed to speak or voice my opposition to this move. Also for the record, this was not on the agenda. This was not consensus. This is censorship.”

This latest brouhaha comes after the Kennedy Center previously announced in February that the president himself would serve as the new chairman of the board, which was also met with controversy at the time.

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