Another member of the Kennedy family is publicly objecting to the newly approved name for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts — an institution dedicated in 1964 as a “living memorial” to President John F. Kennedy.
After White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday, Dec. 18, that the Kennedy Center board had voted “unanimously” to rename the venue the “Trump-Kennedy Center,” Joe Kennedy III responded on X.
“The Kennedy Center is a living memorial to a fallen president and named for President Kennedy by federal law,” wrote Kennedy, 45, the grandson of former Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. “It can no sooner be renamed than can someone rename the Lincoln Memorial, no matter what anyone says.”
Kennedy’s statement echoed earlier comments from his second cousin Jack Schlossberg — JFK’s only grandson — who argued over the summer that changing the Kennedy Center’s name to include President Donald Trump would violate federal law governing how the organization operates.
Schlossberg, 32, posted a screenshot of a federal statute stating that as of Dec. 2, 1983, “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.” In his caption, Schlossberg wrote, “Plain reading of the statute makes clear — YOU CAN’T DO THAT.” He also added text over the image stating that the law prohibits renaming the Kennedy Center.
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After Leavitt’s Thursday announcement, Schlossberg again responded on social media, disputing her description of the vote.
“Microphones were muted and the board meeting and vote NOT unanimous,” he wrote on X.
He then promoted his congressional campaign, adding, “I’m told Trump explicitly motivated to act by JACK FOR NEW YORK. Our campaign represents everything Trump can’t stand or defeat.”
In a separate Instagram post on Thursday, Schlossberg wrote, “SEND ME TO CONGRESS TO SMOKE THESE FOOLS — MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD LOUD AND CLEAR — I won’t back down or be drowned out.”
Ohio Rep. Joyce Beatty, an ex-officio member of the Kennedy Center board, also challenged the White House’s claim that the vote was unanimous.
In a video she posted to X on Thursday, Beatty, 75, said she attempted to raise concerns during the call but was prevented from doing so.
“Be clear: I was on that call, and as I tried to push my button to voice my concern, to ask questions and certainly not to vote in support of this, I was muted,” Beatty said. “Each time I tried to speak, I was muted. Participants were not allowed to voice their concerns who were online, yet it was said at the end it was a unanimous vote.”
She added that she believes the process was meant to sidestep legal constraints and limit public input.
Trump has repeatedly said he wants to leave his mark on the Kennedy Center and made himself chairman shortly after returning to office in January. He has also claimed he removed “woke” board members and replaced them with allies.
In July, Republican Rep. Bob Onder introduced the “Make Entertainment Great Again Act,” which proposed renaming the venue the “Donald J. Trump Center for Performing Arts.” The bill did not become law.
A month later, while previewing the Kennedy Center Honors, Trump wrote on Truth Social, “GREAT Nominees for the TRUMP/KENNEDY CENTER, whoops, I mean, KENNEDY CENTER, AWARDS.”
