Kennedy Center Sparks Family Outrage with Trump-Kennedy Rebrand

The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. is nearing a potential shift as it could be rebranded as the Trump-Kennedy Center.

On December 18, 2025, the White House confirmed that the Kennedy Center’s board had voted to alter the name of the building, which currently honors President John F. Kennedy.

“I have just been informed that the highly respected Board of the Kennedy Center, comprised of some of the most accomplished individuals from across the globe, has just voted unanimously to rename the Kennedy Center to the Trump-Kennedy Center, due to the remarkable work President Trump has undertaken over the past year in preserving the building,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote via X at the time. “Not only from the perspective of its reconstruction, but also financially, and regarding its reputation. Congratulations to President Donald J. Trump, and likewise, congratulations to President Kennedy, because this will be a truly exceptional partnership for many years to come! The building will undoubtedly achieve new levels of achievement and grandeur.”

Shortly after the news emerged, several members of the Kennedy family voiced their opposition to the board’s decision.

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Maria Shriver questioned the motivation behind President Trump’s desire to have his name associated with the cultural center.

“The next step perhaps will be to rename JFK Airport, rename the Lincoln Memorial, the Trump Lincoln Memorial, the Trump Jefferson Memorial. The Trump Smithsonian. The list continues,” she wrote via Instagram. “Can we not recognize what is transpiring here? Come on, my fellow Americans! Awaken! This is not dignified. This is not humorous. This is far beneath the standard of the office. It’s frankly peculiar. It’s obsessive in a strange way. Just when you believe someone cannot sink any lower, they do…”

According to NBC News, Trump told reporters at the White House that he was “surprised” and “honored” by the board’s vote.

Continue reading to see how other Kennedy family members reacted to the announcement:

Jack Schlossberg

JFK’s only grandson pledged to actively resist the Kennedy Center’s new designation.

“SEND ME TO CONGRESS TO CONFRONT THESE FOOLS — MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD LOUD AND CLEAR,” Schlossberg, who is campaigning for New York’s 12th Congressional District, said via Instagram on December 18, 2025. “I will not yield or be silenced.”

Joe Kennedy III

Upon seeing Leavitt’s announcement regarding the Kennedy Center, JFK’s nephew decided to address the situation on social media.

“The Kennedy Center is a lasting tribute to a deceased president and named for President Kennedy by federal law,” he wrote via X on December 18, 2025. “It can no more be renamed than can someone rename the Lincoln Memorial, regardless of what anyone says.”

Maria Shriver

The journalist and niece of JFK expressed her disappointment at the Kennedy Center being renamed to the Trump-Kennedy Center.

“The Kennedy Center was named after my uncle, President John F Kennedy. It was named in his memory. He was a person who was interested in the arts, interested in culture, interested in education, language, history,” she wrote via Instagram on December 18, 2025. “He introduced the arts into the White House, and he and my Aunt Jackie [Kennedy Onassis] championed the arts, celebrated the arts, advocated for the arts and artists.”

Shriver continued, “It is beyond comprehension that a sitting president would seek to rename this significant memorial dedicated to President Kennedy. It is beyond belief that he would think adding his name in front of President Kennedy’s name is acceptable. It is not.”

Following the installation of Trump’s name on the Kennedy Center building, Shriver spoke out again.

“This will forever be the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts,” she wrote via Instagram later that month. “A great leader would have told his hand-picked board, ‘Thank you, but the building already has its name. Let it stand. Let it remain. I do not need that.’ But then again…”

Kerry Kennedy

“President Trump and his administration have spent the past year suppressing freedom of expression, targeting artists, journalists, and comedians and erasing the history of Americans whose contributions improved our nation and made it more equitable and just,” JFK’s niece Kerry wrote via X on December 18, 2025. “President Kennedy proudly stood for justice, peace, equality, dignity, diversity, and compassion for those who suffer. President Trump stands in opposition to these principles, and his name should not be placed alongside President Kennedy’s.”

One day later, Kerry reacted to Trump’s name being installed on the building.

“Three years and one month from today, I’m going to grab a pickax and remove those letters from that building, but I’m going to need assistance holding the ladder,” she wrote via X. “Are you in? Applying for my carpenter’s certification today, so it will be a union job!!!”

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Tim Shriver

“Perhaps the board isn’t aware that the Kennedy Center is a memorial to the president of the United States, John F. Kennedy. Would they rename the Lincoln memorial? The Jefferson? That would be an insult to great presidents. This too is an insult to a great president,” JFK’s nephew Tim wrote via X in December 2025. “ Notwithstanding their shortsighted action, it is and will remain the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.”

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

In an interview released on January 8, 2026, CBS News chief White House correspondent Nancy Cordes inquired with the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services whether he understood why his family members were “upset” by the Kennedy Center’s name change.

“Of course. I understand it, but I have more pressing concerns,” RFK Jr. responded. “If we lose any children in this country to obesity, heart disease — 77 percent of our children cannot qualify for the military. Saving one life is more important to me than the name on a building.”