Maria Shriver Says It’s ‘Downright Weird’ That Trump’s Name Will Appear Before ‘Kennedy’ on JFK’s Own Memorial: ‘Wake Up!’

Maria Shriver has added her voice to a growing number of Kennedy relatives criticizing the newly announced name for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Shriver, 70, responded in a long Instagram post on Thursday, Dec. 18, after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said earlier that day that the venue would now be called the “Trump-Kennedy Center.”

Leavitt described the decision as the result of a “unanimous” vote by the Kennedy Center board. The announcement quickly drew objections from members of the Kennedy family, including Robert F. Kennedy’s grandson Joe Kennedy III and John F. Kennedy’s grandson Jack Schlossberg — and, now, Shriver.

In her post, Shriver emphasized that the institution was named for her uncle and created to honor him.

“The Kennedy Center was named after my uncle, President John F Kennedy. It was named in his honor,” she wrote, describing him as someone deeply invested in the arts, culture, education, language, history, and public life.

Shriver also pointed to the way JFK and former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy championed artists and elevated the arts in the White House, arguing that the new branding diminishes the memorial’s purpose.

“It is beyond comprehension that this sitting president has sought to rename this great memorial dedicated to President Kennedy,” she continued. “It is beyond wild that he would think adding his name in front of President Kennedy’s name is acceptable. It is not.”

She then warned that the move could set a precedent for renaming other national sites, invoking examples such as JFK Airport and the Lincoln Memorial.

“Can we not see what is happening here?” she wrote, urging Americans to pay attention and calling the decision undignified. She described the move as “downright weird,” adding that it felt “obsessive.”

Shriver’s comments came as Joe Kennedy III and Schlossberg argued the change conflicts with federal law. In his response on X, Joe wrote, “The Kennedy Center is a living memorial to a fallen president and named for President Kennedy by federal law.”

He added, “It can no sooner be renamed than can someone rename the Lincoln Memorial, no matter what anyone says.”

Months earlier, Schlossberg had criticized a proposal from Republican Rep. Bob Onder: the “Make Entertainment Great Again Act,” which would have renamed the venue the “Donald J. Trump Center for Performing Arts.” The measure was not enacted.

At the time, Schlossberg posted a screenshot of Public Law 88-260, which governs the Kennedy Center’s status as a memorial. The law states that “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 his caption.

Shriver had also blasted the earlier proposal when it surfaced in July, writing on X, “This is insane. It makes my blood boil. It’s so ridiculous, so petty, so small minded. Truly, what is this about? It’s always about something. ‘Let’s get rid of the Rose Garden. Let’s rename the Kennedy Center.’ What’s next?”

Trump has been public about wanting to reshape the Kennedy Center during his second term. Shortly after returning to the White House in January, he named himself chairman and said he intended to remove what he called “woke” board members to make room for MAGA-aligned supporters.

JFK, widely known as a supporter of the arts, was honored through the center after his death. Although plans for a national cultural center in Washington, D.C., existed before his assassination in 1963, the institution was later redesignated as a memorial following his death.