Maria Shriver Issues Blunt Takedown of Donald Trump After Kennedy Center Renaming
What To Know
- Maria Shriver publicly criticized President Donald Trump for renaming the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to include his own name.
- Shriver emphasized that only Congress has the authority to change the center’s name, as it was established as a living memorial to President Kennedy in 1964.
- Her remarks on Instagram were widely supported by followers, who condemned Trump’s decision and affirmed the Kennedy Center’s original legacy.
Maria Shriver issued a blunt takedown of President Donald Trump after the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts was renamed to honor the POTUS.
On Friday, December 19, the journalist and niece of President Kennedy took to Instagram to send a direct message to Trump.
“Adding your name to a memorial already named in honor of a great man doesn’t make you a great man,” Shriver, 70, captioned photos of the building’s name being changed to the Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. “Quite the contrary. Putting your name on top of someone else’s doesn’t mean that people will speak of you in the same breath as the other man.”
To Trump, 79, she asked, “Putting your name above another man’s name on his existing memorial… What is that about? Truly? What’s that about? Do you want people to speak the names as one? Dig down deep. What are you trying to say? I’m really interested.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s ex-wife then pointed out, “There is no other president who would do this. None. Zero. In fact, it’s not even legal. Congress named the performing arts center as a living memorial in 1964, and only Congress can change that law.”
To conclude her update, Shriver declared, “This will always be the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. A great man would have said to his hand picked board, ‘Thank you, but the building already has its name. Let it stand. Let it be. I don’t need that.’ But then again…”
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In the comments, Shriver’s followers joined her in condemning the POTUS for the Kennedy Center decision. One Instagram user wrote, “It is the John F Kennedy Center. Now and FOREVER 🇺🇸.”
Another shared, “This is disgraceful, I’m so sorry!”
Someone else echoed, “Very well said. This is shameful.”
A different follower wrote, “I’m so sorry for your family. He’s clearly targeting Kennedys. What he did to your Aunt Jackie’s rose garden made me sob.”
Meanwhile, yet another Instagram user commented, “Thank you for always standing up for what is right. There is only one Kennedy Center with only that legacy.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced on Thursday, December 18, that the Board of the Kennedy Center unanimously voted to rename the building the Trump-Kennedy Center.
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