John F. Kennedy's family slam Trump after plans to rename Kennedy Center go ahead
After the Kennedy Center board voted this week to rename the facility in honour of the Trumps, JFK's grandson issued a passionate message of outrage.
The proposal to rename the iconic landmark was first announced by House Republicans back in July of this year, on the basis of First Lady Melania Trump's supposed 'support and commitment in promoting the arts and humanities'.
The amendment was led by Donald Trump who, back in January, was appointed the chairman of the facility and fired a host of previous board members.
In July, the 79-year-old claimed plans for the 'First Lady Melania Trump Opera House' would form part of his controversial 'Make America Great Again Act'.
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Until this week's ruling, the cultural Washington D.C. hub was named in honour of the late president John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated eight years before the building's 1971 opening.
Despite major pushbacks, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced yesterday that a compromise had been reached, and that the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts would now be known as the 'Trump-Kennedy Center'.
She claimed on X (formerly Twitter) that the board had 'voted unanimously' for the alteration - a claim which JFK's own grandson Jack Schlossberg has bitterly refuted.
In his own social media post, Schlossberg alleged: "Microphones were muted and the board meeting and vote NOT unanimous."
The 32-year-old went on to refer to his own recently-announced 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."
Schlossberg also took to Instagram, where he 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."
His claim regarding the microphones was subsequently supported by Ohio Rep. Joyce Beatty - who currently serves as an ex-officio member of the Kennedy Center board, and who alleged she'd been muted on the conference call where the vote took place.
The 75-year-old said in a video message shared online: "For the record. This was not unanimous. I was muted on the call and not allowed to speak or voice my opposition to this move.
"Also for the record, this was not on the agenda. This was not consensus. This is censorship."
Beatty continued: "Clearly the Congress has a say in this. This centre, the Kennedy Center, was created by the Congress. I think it's important for us to know that this is just another attempt to evade the law and not let the people have a say."
Maria Shriver, the late president's grand-niece also spoke out with a fiery statement.
"The Kennedy Center was named after my uncle, President John F Kennedy. It was named in his honor," she wrote on X.
"He was a man who was interested in the arts, interested in culture, interested in education, language, history. He brought the arts into the White House, and he and my Aunt Jackie amplified the arts, celebrated the arts, stood up for the arts and artists."
Hitting out at the alteration, she continued: "It is beyond comprehension that this sitting president has sought to rename this great memorial dedicated to President Kennedy. It is beyond wild that he would think adding his name in front of President Kennedy’s name is acceptable. It is not.
"Next thing perhaps he will want to rename JFK Airport, rename the Lincoln Memorial, the Trump Lincoln Memorial. The Trump Jefferson Memorial. The Trump Smithsonian. The list goes on."
JFK's grandnephew, politician and former diplomat Joe Kennedy III, agreed, adding: "The Kennedy Center is a living memorial to a fallen president and named for President Kennedy by federal law.
"It can no sooner be renamed than can someone rename the Lincoln Memorial, no matter what anyone says."
Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News, News
Rhianna Benson