Kennedy Center Board Member Says Opposition to Trump Renaming Was Censored as JFK Family Condemns Move: ‘An Insult’

A Kennedy Center board member accused the White House of lying about the organization’s “unanimous” vote to change the center’s name to the “Trump-Kennedy Center,” claiming that her dissent was censored.

On Thursday, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that the Trump-controlled board “voted unanimously” for the name change. Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), who sits on the center’s board, posted a video to X after the announcement making it clear that she was on the call when the decision was made and was muted so she could not voice her dissenting opinion.

“What you may hear is that there was a unanimous vote to rename the Kennedy Center the Trump Center,” Beatty said. “Be clear, I was on that call and as I tried to push my button to voice my concern, to ask questions, and certainly not to vote in support of this, I was muted. Each time I tried to speak I was muted. Participants were not allowed to voice their concerns who were online yet it was said at the end it was a unanimous vote.”

She continued: “Clearly, the Congress has a say in this. This center – the Kennedy Center – was created by the Congress. I think it is important for us to know that this is just another attempt to evade the law, and not let the people have a say.”

The president named himself a chairman of the Kennedy Center earlier this year after taking office. He hinted at the name change in October in a Truth Social post.

The proposal to change the name of the center to the Trump-Kennedy Center was also lambasted online by members of President John F. Kennedy’s family on Thursdasy.

“Perhaps the board isn’t aware that the Kennedy Center is the memorial to the president of the United States, John F. Kennedy,” Tim Shriver, JFK’s nephew, wrote on X. “Would they rename the Lincoln Memorial? The Jefferson? That would be an insult to great presidents. This too is an insult to a great president.”

Other Kennedy family members who voiced concerns included Maria Shriver and Joe Kennedy III.

“The Kennedy Center was named after my uncle, President John F. Kennedy,” Shriver, JFK’s niece, wrote. “It was named in his honor. He was a man who was interested in the arts, interested in culture, interested in education, language, history. He brought the arts into the White House, and he and my Aunt Jackie amplified the arts, celebrated the arts, stood up for the arts and artists.”

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

Joe Kennedy III added that altering the Kennedy Center could “no sooner be renamed than can someone rename the Lincoln Memorial, no matter what anyone says.”

In July, House Republican’s introduced a bill that aimed to strip former President Kennedy’s name from the center, turning it into the Trump Center for the Performing Arts.

The center’s name change was part of legislation introduced by Rep. Bob Onder (R-Missouri) called the Make Entertainment Great Again (MEGA) Act. Onder noted in his bill proposal that Trump was intended “to preserve the integrity of the fine arts by ending woke programming and rebalancing the Kennedy Center’s $234 million budget” since being elected chairman.

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