John F. Kennedy’s family members Jack Schlossberg, Maria Shriver and Joe Kennedy III called out Donald Trump over his decision to close down the Kennedy Center.
“Trump can take the Kennedy Center for himself. He can change the name, shut the doors, and demolish the building. He can try to kill JFK,” Schlossberg, the grandson of Kennedy, wrote in an X post on Sunday.
“But JFK is kept alive by us now rising up to remove Donald Trump, bring him to justice, and restore the freedoms generations fought for,” he added.
Schlossberg’s remarks come after Trump announced Saturday that he is closing the Kennedy Center on July 4, 2026 for a two-year renovation project. Trump recently appointed himself as chair of the center’s board, installed several loyalists and renamed it the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.
Shriver, the niece of Kennedy, responded by mocking the president, pointing out that she believes he is shutting the building down after several event cancellations.
“Translation: It has been brought to my attention that due to the name change (but nobody’s telling me it’s due to the name change), but it’s been brought to my attention that entertainers are canceling left and right, and I have determined that since the name change no one wants to perform there any longer,” Shriver wrote on Sunday.
She continued: “I’ve determined that due to this change in schedule, it’s best for me to close this center down and rebuild a new center that will bear my name, which will surely get everybody to stop talking about the fact that everybody’s canceling… right?”
Former Rep. Joe Kennedy, one of Robert F. Kennedy Sr.’s grandson, said Trump is trying to “trespass on the People’s will.”
“President John F. Kennedy believed that one day this country would live up to its promise of justice and equal rights for all,” he wrote on X on Sunday. “For those beliefs and for his sacrifice, Congress voted to make The Kennedy Center a living memorial to him, as a place built by the people for the people to celebrate what connects us.”
As for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Kennedy’s nephew and Trump’s health secretary, he stated his family’s outrage over Trump’s Kennedy Center-related actions are the last thing on his mind.
“Of course, I understand it, but I have bigger fish to fry,” the health secretary told CBS News’ Nancy Cordes in an interview last month.
Kennedy, the nephew of the former president, said he’s more concerned with the childhood obesity epidemic in the U.S.
“If we lose any children in this country to obesity, heart disease — 77% of our kids can’t qualify for the military,” Kennedy explained. “Saving one life is more important to me than the name on a building.”
