JFK’s niece Kerry Kennedy vows to remove Trump's name from Kennedy Center

WASHINGTON, DC: The Kennedy family backlash intensified this week after President Donald Trump’s name was physically added to the Kennedy Center building, prompting a sharp response from JFK’s niece Kerry Kennedy, who vowed to personally remove the lettering once Trump leaves office.

The controversial signage was installed Friday following a vote by the center’s newly reshaped, Trump-aligned board, reigniting debate over the legality and symbolism of altering the name of a congressionally designated memorial.

Kerry Kennedy vows to remove Trump name from Kennedy Center

Kerry Kennedy, daughter of Robert F. Kennedy and niece of President John F. Kennedy, did not hold back after photos of the updated Kennedy Center signage circulated online. The new lettering reads, “The Donald Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”

Taking to X, Kennedy said she would personally remove Trump’s name once he leaves office.

“Three years and one month from today, I’m going to grab a pickax and pull those letters off that building,” she wrote. “But I’m going to need help holding the ladder. Are you in? Applying for my carpenter’s card today, so it’ll be a union job!!!”

Her post quickly went viral, striking a chord with critics who view the Kennedy Center as a sacred national memorial rather than a political branding opportunity.

Kennedy also accused the Trump administration of suppressing free expression and undermining the arts, contrasting those actions with her uncle’s legacy of promoting culture, education, and civil rights.

Maria Shriver calls Trump-Kennedy Center renaming disrespectful

Kennedy’s cousin, journalist and author Maria Shriver, also condemned the move, questioning both its symbolism and intent.

“Adding your name to a memorial already named in honor of a great man doesn’t make you a great man. Quite the contrary,” Shriver wrote on X.

She went on to criticize the placement of Trump’s name above JFK’s, asking whether the intent was to blur or merge their legacies. Shriver urged Trump to reflect on the message the change sent to the public and to the Kennedy family.

Kennedy family questions legality of Trump name addition

Beyond symbolism, members of the Kennedy family argued that the move may violate federal law. Shriver noted that Congress designated the Kennedy Center as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy in 1964 following his assassination.

She emphasized that only Congress has the authority to change the memorial’s designation and that no president or board has unilateral power to alter its name.

“This will always be the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts,” Shriver wrote, adding that a leader committed to honoring JFK’s legacy would have declined the addition.

JFK grandson Jack Schlossberg cites federal law blocking new memorials

Earlier this year, JFK’s grandson Jack Schlossberg publicly opposed a Republican-backed bill that sought to rename the venue entirely as the “Donald J. Trump Center for Performing Arts.” The proposal ultimately failed to become law.

Schlossberg later cited Public Law 88-260, which states that no additional memorials or plaques “in the nature of memorials” may be installed in public areas of the Kennedy Center.

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

Board vote under scrutiny after congresswoman disputes unanimity

The controversy deepened after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed the board had unanimously approved the addition of Trump’s name.

Ohio Representative Joyce Beatty, an ex-officio board member, disputed that claim, saying she was muted during the meeting and prevented from voicing opposition.

“For the record, this was not unanimous,” Beatty wrote, adding that the renaming was not listed on the meeting agenda and accusing the board of censorship. She stressed that Congress, not a politically reshaped board, ultimately controls the designation of the Kennedy Center memorial.