She warned that such a move, if allowed, would set a dangerous precedent, suggesting it could open the door to the renaming of other iconic American landmarks for political vanity.
Maria Shriver, journalist and niece of former United States President John F. Kennedy, has condemned the ongoing move by the Donald Trump administration to rename John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for Trump.
The Kennedy Center board of trustees has voted to change the name to the "Trump-Kennedy Center”.
Shriver described the move as “beyond comprehension,” “undignified,” and “downright weird.”
Shriver is the daughter of JFK’s sister, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, making JFK her uncle.
Shriver, in a post on her X handle on Thursday, said the Kennedy Center was established in honour of President Kennedy’s enduring commitment to arts, culture, education, history, and language, warning that any attempt to tamper with its identity amounts to an assault on history and national memory.
“The Kennedy Center was named after my uncle, President John F. Kennedy. It was named in his honor,” Shriver said. “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.”
The Kennedy Center, located in Washington, D.C., has for decades served as the United States’ national cultural centre, hosting performances across music, theatre, dance and other artistic disciplines, while also serving as a living memorial to the 35th president.
Shriver expressed disbelief that a sitting president would contemplate attaching his own name to the memorial, describing such an action as unprecedented and inappropriate.
“It is beyond comprehension that this sitting president has sought to rename this great memorial dedicated to President Kennedy,” she said. “It is beyond wild that he would think adding his name in front of President Kennedy’s name is acceptable. It is not.”
She warned that such a move, if allowed, would set a dangerous precedent, suggesting it could open the door to the renaming of other iconic American landmarks for political vanity.
“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 stated.
Calling on Americans to resist what she described as creeping authoritarian symbolism and ego-driven politics, Shriver urged citizens to recognise the broader implications of the reported plan.
“Can we not see what is happening here? C’mon, my fellow Americans! Wake up!” she said.
She added that the reported proposal falls far below the dignity expected of the presidency.
“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 somone can’t stoop any lower, down they go…” she said.
Meanwhile, United States Congresswoman Joyce Beatty has disputed claims that there was a unanimous decision to rename the Center after President Trump, alleging that dissenting voices were deliberately silenced during a board meeting and that due process was ignored.
Beatty, who represents Ohio's 3rd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives and serves as an ex-officio member of the Kennedy Center’s board, said she was muted repeatedly during a recent call and denied the opportunity to speak, raise concerns, or register her opposition.
She lamented that the outcome was later presented to the public as unanimous.
Speaking in a video recorded from her congressional office in Washington, D.C., Beatty said she felt compelled to address what she described as a serious breach of transparency and democratic process.