By Jeff Mason
WASHINGTON, Dec 19 (Reuters) – Workers at the Kennedy Center began adding Donald Trump’s name to the arts venue on Friday after a board he chairs voted to rename it, a move Democrats called illegal and John F. Kennedy’s family denounced as undermining the slain president’s legacy.
The board, stocked with Trump allies in a broad takeover this year, voted on Thursday to rename the Washington landmark The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, or Trump Kennedy Center for short.
Democrats said the move was unlawful and required congressional authorization. Members of Kennedy’s family also objected to the change for a building that honors the 35th president, who was assassinated in 1963.
President Trump, a Republican, has mused about having his name attached and called it the Trump Kennedy Center from the stage when he hosted the annual Kennedy Center Honors earlier this month.
On Thursday he said he was surprised by the decision of the board, which he leads. Proponents of the name change say Trump has strengthened the institution through fundraising and a focus on building renovation.
KENNEDYS ASSAIL NEW NAME AS AN AFFRONT TO JFK LEGACY
“President Trump and his administration have spent the past year repressing free expression, targeting artists, journalists, and comedians, and erasing the history of Americans whose contributions made our nation better and more just,” Kerry Kennedy, president of the Robert & Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center, posted on X.
Maria Shriver, the slain president’s niece, posted 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.”
The rapidity with which the physical change was made suggests that preparations for a new name had been made before the Thursday vote. The center’s website now has The Trump Kennedy Center name affixed to the top, too.
Earlier this year Trump ousted members of the board appointed by President Joe Biden, took over as chairman and installed Richard Grenell, a longtime ally and former ambassador to Germany, as the Center’s president.
Since returning to power in January, Trump has moved aggressively to cement a physical legacy in Washington — paving the White House Rose Garden for a patio and razing its East Wing for a 90,000-square-foot (8,361-square-meter) ballroom.
His administration also affixed his name to the nearby United States Institute of Peace building.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Howard Goller)
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