Maria Shriver slams Trump over Kennedy Center name change decision: ‘Beyond comprehension’

Kennedy family member calls renaming ‘beyond wild’ after board’s unanimous vote

Maria Shriver slammed President Donald Trump on Thursday after the Kennedy Center’s board voted unanimously to rename the institution to the “Trump-Kennedy Center,” accusing him of trying to attach his name to a memorial dedicated to her uncle, President John F. Kennedy.

Shriver, a high-profile member of the Kennedy family, said it is “beyond comprehension” to change the center’s name, accusing Trump of staining JFK’s legacy in art, culture and education.

“It is beyond comprehension that this sitting president has sought to rename this great memorial dedicated to President Kennedy,” Shriver wrote on X. “It is beyond wild that he would think adding his name in front of President Kennedy’s name is acceptable. It is not.”

Kennedy Center vice president of public relations Roma Daravi told Fox Digital Thursday that the unanimous vote “recognizes” Trump’s work to pull the center out of financial straits while working to also update the building originally constructed in the 1960s, and opened in 1971.

Maria Shriver criticized President Donald Trump on Dec. 18 after the Kennedy Center’s board voted to rename the institution to the “Trump-Kennedy Center.” (JB Lacroix/Getty Images)

Shriver argued that adding Trump’s name was not “dignified” or “funny,” and “is way beneath the stature of the job.”

“Just when you think someone can’t stoop any lower, down they go,” she said.

The former first lady of California quipped that Trump might want to rename JFK Airport or make other changes, including the “Trump Lincoln Memorial,” “Trump Jefferson Memorial” and “Trump Smithsonian.”

President Donald Trump speaks at the 48th Kennedy Center Honors Medallion Reception at the U.S. Department of State on December 6, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images)

“Can we not see what is happening here?” Shriver said. “C’mon, my fellow Americans! Wake up!”

President Trump said on Thursday he was “honored” and “surprised” by the update.

“We’re saving the building. We saved the building. The building was in such bad shape, physically, financially, in every other way. And now it’s very solid, very strong. We have something going on television, I guess on the 23rd December. I think it’s going to get very big ratings and the Kennedy Center is really, really back strongly,” he told reporters.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is lit in red, white, and blue and reflected in the Potomac River at dusk on May 8, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (David Ake/Getty Images)

Other members of the Kennedy family, including JFK’s great-nephew, Joe Kennedy III, weighed in on the name change, arguing that federal law protects the center’s name from being changed.

“It can no sooner be renamed than can someone rename the Lincoln Memorial, no matter what anyone says,” he wrote on X.

The name change follows recent precedent, a Kennedy Center official told Fox News Digital, noting that the State Department’s decided earlier this month to add Trump’s name to the U.S. Institute of Peace and to past presidential administrations that have renamed military bases.