Maria Shriver Issues Blunt Takedown of Donald Trump After Kennedy Center Renaming

Donald Trump, Maria Shriver
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images; Ethan Miller/Getty Images

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…”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Maria Shriver (@mariashriver)

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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  1. K

    KitKat

    I think that Trump is very egotistical and feels like he has to have his name on everything! This though is shameful and he is NOT deserving of this. I can not believe that Congress allowed him to do this! He probably had it done all on his own. Nasty piece of work.

  2. G

    gary1955

    How can his name be put on a Memorial when he's not dead?

    1. R

      Reddawg

      M.A.G.A. Get it done Son!

  3. B

    Becky.

    Congress should have voted for accepting or declines the name change, not the Donald Trump Fan Club.

  4. G

    Guest

    JFK will always be a legend, Trump will never achieve that status.

    His sycophants did what he wanted. It’s disgraceful and should be removed. What’s next renaming the Lincoln Memorial?

    He’s destroying the party, midterms will tell the story.

    At least I’m sure another president will take his name off the building if it’s not forced off immediately!!!

    Or perhaps public opinion will wake him up.

  5. B

    Becky.

    Trump should concentrate on his new show The Patriot Games, at this rate it will called as Trump's Hungry Games with the price of food. Stop labelling everything with the Donald Dump Logo.