United States President Donald Trump was sued on Tuesday, December 23, for adding his name to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, allegedly without any approval from Congress. Ohio Democrat Joyce Beatty has accused Donald Trump and his appointees of breaking the law to satisfy her “vanity.” The new sign now says “Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”
“Today, we are proud to unveil an updated exterior sign — honoring the leadership of President Donald J. Trump and the lasting legacy of John F. Kennedy,” the center said on its newly rebranded X account, along with photos of the signs.
Although the president named himself chairman of the board earlier this year and cleared most of it by calling her “too woke,” Donald Trump said he was “surprised” by the renaming.
Democrats and members of the Kennedy family — though not Trump’s Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. – criticized the name change.
What does the opposition say?
Those who criticized the move to rename the Kennedy Center argued that only Congress had the power to change the name.
“The Kennedy Center was named by law. Changing the name would require revising the 1964 law,” Ray Smock, a former House historian, said in an email. “The Kennedy Center Committee is not a legislative entity. Congress makes laws.” Also read | Robert F. Kennedy Jr says he told the CDC to abandon its position that vaccines do not cause autism
Joyce Beatty also claimed she was silenced during the vote, claiming it was not unanimous.
The last step to rename the center was also criticized by the family of John F. Kennedy. Kerry Kennedy, niece of John F. Kennedy, said in a social post on X that she would remove Trump’s name herself after his term ends.
“Three years and one month from today, I’m going to take a pickaxe and get those letters out of that building, but I’m going to need help holding a ladder. Are you there? I’m applying for my carpenter’s license today, so it’s going to be union work!!!” she said in a post on the social network.
Last week, center spokeswoman Roma Daravi said in a statement that Trump’s name was added because he “saved the institution from financial collapse and physical destruction.”
