Following news that the Kennedy Center board has approved President Trump’s renaming of the performing arts hall, JFK’s family publicly speaks out.
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JFK’s niece, Maria Shriver, addressed the situation in an Instagram post.
“The Kennedy Center was named after my uncle, President John F Kennedy,” she wrote. “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.”
Shriver also stated that it was “beyond comprehension” that Trump sought to rename the Kennedy Center. “It is beyond wild that he would think adding his name in front of President Kennedy’s name is acceptable,” she pointed out. “It is not.”
JFK’s niece then noted that Trump could go so far as to rename other memorials. “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.”
“Can we not see what is happening here? C’mon, my fellow Americans! Wake up!” she further declared. “This is not dignified. This is not funny.”
She then added, “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…”
Other Family Members Slam President Trump For Kennedy Center Name Change
Meanwhile, JFK’s only grandson, Jack Schlossberg, spoke out, disputing the White House’s claim that the Kennedy Center’s board “voted unanimously” to rename it.
Schlossberg believes that the re-naming was in retaliation for his Congressional campaign, which he announced last month.
“Microphones were muted and the board meeting and vote NOT unanimous,” he wrote. “I’m told Trump explicitly motivated to act by JACK FOR NEW YORK. Our campaign represents everything Trump can’t stand or defeat.”
Schlossberg also wrote on 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.”
JFK’s niece and RFK Jr.’s sister, Kerry Kennedy, stated that she will tear down Donald Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center when his second presidential term ends.
“Three years and one month from today, I’m going to grab a pickax and pull those letters off that building, but I’m going to need help holding the ladder,” she wrote. “Are you in? Applying for my carpenter’s card today, so it’ll be a union job!!!”
Robert F. Kennedy’s grandson, former Rep. Joe Kennedy III, also slammed the board’s decision, stating, the 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,” he added.