Democrats are outraged over a new GOP-backed bill that seeks to rename the John F. Kennedy Center, a landmark institution honoring the former president and iconic figure of a storied political dynasty.
Legislation filed by Congressman Bob Onder (R-MO) aims to “designate the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as the ‘Donald J. Trump Center for the Performing Arts.’” Onder, before introducing his bill, praised President Donald Trump as “a patron of the arts and a staple of the pop-culture landscape.”
The bill, named the Make Entertainment Great Again (MEGA) Act, is a nod to Trump’s 2016 campaign slogan “Make America Great Again” and appears to take a swipe at the entertainment industry, which has largely distanced itself from him since his initial election victory. “I cannot think of a more ubiquitous symbol of American exceptionalism in the arts, entertainment, and popular culture at large than President Trump,” Onder added.
Efforts to rename parts of the Kennedy Center were already in motion before Onder introduced his bill. House Republicans on the Appropriations Committee had previously added an amendment to a funding bill for the Interior Department and other domestic agencies that would rename a performance space within the center as the “First Lady Melania Trump Opera House.”
Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) said the designation would be an “excellent way to recognize [Melania Trump’s] support and commitment to promoting the arts.” Naturally, Democrats hate the idea, and members of the Kennedy family also shunned the proposal.
“A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces — but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers,” Jack Schlossberg, the late president’s 32-year-old grandson, wrote on social media this week, according to The Hill. “The Trump administration stands for freedom of oppression, not expression,” he falsely claimed.
Maria Shriver, a member of the Kennedy family and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ex-wife, also condemned the legislation in a post on X, calling it an affront to her family’s legacy. “This is insane. It makes my blood boil. It’s so ridiculous, so petty, so small minded,” she wrote on the X platform.
The center opened its doors in 1971, eight years after JFK was assassinated. Its website describes the 35th president as a “lifelong supporter and advocate of the arts” who “frequently steered the public discourse toward what he called ‘our contribution to the human spirit.’”
