Kennedy Center Updates Its Logo to 'The Trump Kennedy Center' as JFK's Family Speaks Out Against Change

The Kennedy Center is already beginning to embrace its newly voted upon name: The Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.

On Thursday, Dec. 18, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt revealed that the Trump-appointed Kennedy Center board had voted to rename the longstanding JFK memorial in Washington, D.C., after the sitting Republican president.

Within hours, the Kennedy Center had updated its website header and social media icons to display a new version of its logo that reads "The Trump Kennedy Center."

The Kennedy Center was dedicated by Congress as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy one year after his assassination. The former president, a devoted supporter of the arts, frequently advocated for what he called "our contribution to the human spirit," as highlighted on the center's site.

Shortly after assuming office in January, President Donald Trump seized control of the Kennedy Center, appointing loyalists to the board, which then voted him as chairman. He has casually referred to the building as the "Trump-Kennedy Center" in speeches and social media posts since the summer.

After the new name was voted on, surviving members of the Kennedy family immediately began reacting with disdain online.

Maria Shriver, JFK's niece, slammed the change as "downright weird," taking issue that a presidential memorial for her murdered uncle now displays a sitting president's name first.

"The Kennedy Center was named after my uncle, President John F Kennedy. It was named in his honor," she began a lengthy Instagram post. "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 continued: "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."

"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, 70, added, before concluding, "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…"

Jack Schlossberg, the only grandson of JFK, highlighted the reports that the vote to rename the institution was not unanimous, as Leavitt suggested when announcing the news.

"Microphones were muted and the board meeting and vote NOT unanimous," he wrote on X, before suggesting that his congressional campaign may have had something to do with the effort to suppress the Kennedy name. "I’m told Trump explicitly motivated to act by JACK FOR NEW YORK. Our campaign represents everything Trump can’t stand or defeat."

His comments seemingly referenced claims by Ohio Rep. Joyce Beatty, an ex-officio Kennedy Center board member, who alleged that when she tried to oppose the name change during the board meeting on Dec. 18, her microphone was muted.

"SEND ME TO CONGRESS TO SMOKE THESE FOOLS — MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD LOUD AND CLEAR," Schlossberg, 32, wrote in a separate Instagram post about the news. "I won’t back down or be drowned out."

Joe Kennedy III, the grandson of Robert F. Kennedy, also commented on the news, insisting that regardless of the Kennedy Center board's vote, the memorial cannot legally be renamed.

"The Kennedy Center is a living memorial to a fallen president and named for President Kennedy by federal law," wrote Joe, 45. "It can no sooner be renamed than can someone rename the Lincoln Memorial, no matter what anyone says."