Maria Shriver Slams MAGA’s ‘Petty’ Effort to Rename Kennedy Center After Trumps Paved JFK’s Rose Garden: ‘Petty and Small-Minded’

Maria Shriver is the latest member of the Kennedy family to speak out against efforts by congressional Republicans to strip the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts of its namesake.

In a social media post Monday, Shriver, the daughter of JFK’s sister Eunice Kennedy Shriver, slammed a new Republican proposal to rename the Kennedy Center — and its Opera House — in honor of President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump.

“This is insane. It makes my blood boil,” Shriver wrote. “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?”

The proposal, introduced by Missouri Rep. Bob Onder and dubbed the “Make Entertainment Great Again Act,” calls for the Kennedy Center to be renamed the Donald J. Trump Center for Performing Arts and its Opera House to be renamed for Melania Trump. The move has drawn sharp backlash from Democrats and members of the Kennedy family, who see it as an attempt to erase JFK’s cultural and historical legacy.

Shriver, 69, also criticized the Trump administration’s controversial redesign of the White House Rose Garden — a space originally renovated at JFK’s request in 1961. Recent photos show much of the lawn replaced by concrete.

“They’re literally paving over history,” she wrote.

President Trump has defended the changes, telling Fox News in March, “We use it for press conferences, and people fall. The terrain gets wet. Women with high heels? It just didn’t work.”

The Kennedy Center was originally intended to be called the National Cultural Center, but after JFK’s assassination, Congress designated it a living memorial in his honor. It now hosts the National Symphony Orchestra, the Kennedy Center Honors, and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

Earlier this year, Trump installed himself as chairman of the Kennedy Center and replaced much of its leadership with political allies, saying he would “make the Kennedy Center great again.”

Just last week, the House Appropriations Committee passed a GOP-backed amendment to rename the Opera House after Melania Trump as part of a broader spending package. The full House has yet to vote on the bill.

Shriver’s nephew, Jack Schlossberg — JFK’s only grandson — also condemned the renaming effort. On Instagram, he pointed to a federal statute from 1983 that explicitly prohibits additional memorials or plaques at the Kennedy Center.

“Plain reading of the statute makes clear — YOU CAN’T DO THAT,” Schlossberg wrote.

Despite the backlash, Republicans backing the name change say it’s part of a broader cultural shift.

In a statement announcing the bill, Rep. Onder praised President Trump as “the most significant figure in American popular culture since Ronald Reagan,” calling the proposal a way to “celebrate American greatness.”

Construction continues at the White House Rose Garden, where photos dated July 22 show a wide expanse of concrete now covering the once-lush lawn. A White House official defended the redesign as a “restoration,” insisting it preserves history while improving accessibility and guest experience.

Critics, however, see the changes as symbolic — a direct attack on the Kennedy legacy and a rewriting of cultural history for political gain.