Kennedy Center name change slammed by Maria Shriver as unacceptable

Maria Shriver criticized President Donald Trump on Thursday after the Kennedy Center board voted unanimously to rename the institution the “Trump-Kennedy Center,” accusing him of trying to attach his name to a memorial to her uncle, President John F. Kennedy.

Shriver, a prominent member of the Kennedy family, said it was “beyond comprehension” to change the center’s name, accusing Trump of tainting JFK’s legacy of art, culture and education.

“It is incomprehensible that this sitting President would seek to rename this great memorial to President Kennedy,” Shriver wrote on

Roma Daravi, vice president of public relations for the Kennedy Center, told Fox Digital on Thursday that the unanimous vote “recognizes” Trump’s work to get the center out of financial difficulties while also working to modernize the building originally built in the 1960s and dedicated in 1971.

TRUMP ADDS HIS BIRTHDAY AS A FREE NATIONAL PARK DAY WHILE REMOVING MLK DAY AND JUNE 18

Maria Shriver criticized President Donald Trump on December 18 after the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees voted to rename the institution the “Trump-Kennedy Center.” (JB Lacroix/Getty Images)

Shriver argued that adding Trump’s name was neither “dignified” nor “funny” and “fell far below the stature of the job.”

“Just when you think someone can’t go any lower, they go down,” she said.

The former First Lady of California joked that Trump might want to rename JFK Airport or make other changes, including the “Trump Lincoln Memorial,” the “Trump Jefferson Memorial” and the “Trump Smithsonian.”

TRUMP’S KENNEDY CENTER HONORS RENOVATION OFFERS LINE-UP OF STARS, NEW MEDALLION AND HISTORIC ACCOMMODATION ROLE

President Donald Trump speaks during the 48th Kennedy Center Honors Medallion Reception at the U.S. Department of State December 6, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images)

“Can’t we see what’s going on here?” » Shriver said. “Come on, my fellow Americans! Wake up!”

President Trump said Thursday he was “honored” and “surprised” by the update.

“We’re saving the building. We saved the building. The building was in very bad shape, physically, financially, in every other way. And now it’s very solid, very strong. We have something happening on television, I guess December 23. I think it’s going to get very big audiences and the Kennedy Center is really, really back with a bang,” he told reporters.

EXCLUSIVE: TRUMP-LED KENNEDY CENTER NEARLY DOUBLES BIDEN-ERA FUNDRAISING, A BRILLIANT RECORD WITH $23M RAISING

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is lit in red, white and blue and reflected in the Potomac River at dusk on May 8, 2025 in Washington, DC. (David Ake/Getty Images)

Other members of the Kennedy family, including JFK’s great-nephew Joe Kennedy III, weighed in on the name change, arguing that fFederal law protects the center’s name from change.

“No sooner can anyone rename it than anyone can rename the Lincoln Memorial, no matter what anyone says,” he wrote on X.

The name change follows recent precedent, a Kennedy Center official told Fox News Digital, noting that the State Department decided earlier this month to add Trump’s name to the U.S. Institute of Peace and previous presidential administrations that renamed military bases.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Fox News Digital has contacted the White House for comment.

Ashley Carnahan and Emma Colton of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.