Board member angrily slams attempted renaming of Kennedy Center by Trump: ‘This is censorship’
Donald Trump is “honoured” by the Kennedy Center board voting for a Trump-Kennedy Center rename. (Taylor Hill/Getty)
Donald Trump is "honoured" by the Kennedy Center board voting for a Trump-Kennedy Center rename. (Taylor Hill/Getty)
The White House has claimed that the Kennedy Center‘s board “unanimously” voted to rename the performing arts centre to honour US President Donald Trump. However, the that statement has been challenged by one board member.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on X (Twitter) on Thursday (18 December) that Kennedy Center board “voted unanimously” to rename the institution the Trump-Kennedy Center. The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural centre of the US.
Leavitt stated it was in honour of “the unbelievable work President Trump has done over the last year in saving the building.”
She also continued: “Congratulations to President Donald J. Trump, and likewise, congratulations to President Kennedy, because this will be a truly great team long into the future! The building will no doubt attain new levels of success and grandeur.”
This comes after Republicans also moved to rename the Kennedy Center Opera House after Melania Trump.
Also, earlier this month, Trump hosted the Kennedy Center Honors 2025. He claimed he “turned down plenty” of “too woke” nominees.
‘This is just another attempt to evade the law.’
By law, members of both parties sit on the Kennedy Center board, and Democrat Representative Joyce Beatty has since spoken out against the decision. She also claimed that on the voting call, she was muted and unable to vote against the renaming.
“I was not allowed to vote because I was muted,” the Democratic congresswoman told ABC News. “I would not have supported this.”
She furthered on X: “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.”
She added: “Also for the record, this was not on the agenda. This was not consensus. This is censorship.”
Her statement was supported by a video in which Beatty clearly stated that “participants were not allowed to voice their concerns. Yet, it was said at the end, it was a unanimous vote.”
“This is just another attempt to evade the law and not let the people have a say.”
President Kennedy’s grandnephew, former congressman Joe Kennedy III, stated the 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.”
This attempted renaming comes after Trump was elected the Center’s chairman following his firing of the previous board members. Trump then selected allies for the board and his close adviser Richard Grenell became board president.
Currently, by federal law, Congress has established the center as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It is unclear what impact the proposed name change will have.
