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New lettering was added to the front of the Kennedy Center on Dec. 19 following a controversial vote to add Donald Trump’s name to the historic venueWork crews were seen adding “The Donald Trump and” above the previously-existing lettering, which read, “The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts”Despite the White House’s claim that the board voted “unanimously” during a Dec. 18 conference call to rename the center, at least one member of the board claimed that opponents were muted and the vote was not unanimous
Following a controversial vote by a MAGA-friendly board, President Donald Trump’s name was officially added to signage on the Kennedy Center’s exterior on Friday, Dec. 19.
Photos from outside the building, located on the bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., showed work crews adding “The Donald Trump and” above the previously-existing lettering, which read, “The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced on Thursday, Dec. 18, that the board of the historic venue had “voted unanimously” to rename the building to the “Trump-Kennedy Center.”
Workers add Donald Trump’s name to the front of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.
Heather Diehl/Getty
However, Ohio Rep. Joyce Beatty, who serves as an ex-officio member of the Kennedy Center board, took to X following the vote with claims that she and other opponents of the renaming were muted on the conference call where the vote took place and were not allowed to voice their differing opinions.
“For the record. This was not unanimous. I was muted on the call and not allowed to speak or voice my opposition to this move,” Beatty, 75, wrote. “Also for the record, this was not on the agenda. This was not consensus. This is censorship.”
In her video message, she continued, “Clearly the Congress has a say in this. This center, the Kennedy Center, was created by the Congress. I think it’s important for us to know that this is just another attempt to evade the law and not let the people have a say.”
Multiple members of the Kennedy family spoke out following Leavitt’s announcement. Jack Schlossberg, the grandson of John F. Kennedy, echoed Beatty’s claims about the unfair vote.
“Microphones were muted and the board meeting and vote NOT unanimous,” Schossberg, 32, wrote in his own post on X.
Referring to his recently announced congressional campaign, Schlossberg continued, “I’m told Trump explicitly motivated to act by JACK FOR NEW YORK. Our campaign represents everything Trump can’t stand or defeat.”
In another post shared to Instagram, he wrote, “SEND ME TO CONGRESS TO SMOKE THESE FOOLS — MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD LOUD AND CLEAR — I won’t back down or be drowned out.”
Rose Schlossberg, Jack Schlossber, and Tatiana Schlossberg at the 39th Annual Kennedy Center Honors.
Jeffrey R. Staab/CBS/Getty
Schlossberg has previously spoken out against the renaming of the Kennedy Center to honor Trump, arguing to do so would violate federal law.
According to Public Law 88-260the Kennedy Center operates as an interactive memorial for the late president. Earlier this year, Schlossberg shared a screenshot of the statute, which declares that, as of Dec. 2, 1983, “no additional memorials or plaques in the nature of memorials shall be designated or installed in the public areas of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.”
“Plain reading of the statute makes clear — YOU CAN’T DO THAT,” Schlossberg wrote in the caption of his post.
Maria Shriver, the daughter of JFK’s sister Eunice Kennedy Shriver also posted on social media about the name change.
“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. 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 wrote.
“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,” Shriver continued. “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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Shriver added, “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 somone can’t stoop any lower, down they go…”
In response to Shriver’s post, Richard Grennell, the interim President of the Kennedy Center, fired back on Xclaiming, “The place was literally falling apart and you didn’t help – at all,” referring to Shriver and her famous family.
“Where you been, Maria?” he continued. “You were completely silent while the building crumbled. Donald Trump had to step in and save it because you didn’t help. You should thank him.”
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