Kerry Kennedy pledged on X to "grab a pickax" in three years and one month and remove President Trump’s letters from the Kennedy Center after the board added his name to the building. Several Kennedy family members, including Maria Shriver and Joe Kennedy III, condemned the change and raised legal and moral objections. The center’s interim president said the board’s vote does not affect the congressional memorial, while White House and center officials confirmed the renaming. Trump, who chairs the board, defended the decision and has praised the institution’s improvement.
Kerry Kennedy Vows to 'Grab a Pickax' and Remove Trump’s Name From Kennedy Center
Kerry Kennedy, daughter of the late U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, said she plans to "grab a pickax" in three years and one month to remove President Donald J. Trump’s letters from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts after the board approved adding his name to the building.
In a post on X, Kennedy wrote: "Three years and one month from today, I’m going to grab a pickax and pull those letters off that building, but I’m going to need help holding the ladder. Are you in? Applying for my carpenter’s card today, so it’ll be a union job!!!"
What Happened
The Kennedy Center board voted to add Trump’s name on Thursday, and letters spelling "The Donald J. Trump" were affixed to the center’s facade on Friday. The exterior now reads: The Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.
Family Reaction
Several members of the Kennedy family condemned the renaming. Maria Shriver, a niece of President John F. Kennedy and former first lady of California, called the move "not dignified" and "not funny," writing on X that it is "beyond wild" to place Trump’s name ahead of President Kennedy’s.
Former U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-Mass.), grandson of Robert F. Kennedy, raised legal concerns, noting the center is "a living memorial to a fallen president and named for President Kennedy by federal law." He argued the memorial’s statutory status makes renaming legally complicated.
Center Leadership and Legal Questions
Richard Grenell, the Kennedy Center’s interim president, disputed the legal framing, saying the board’s decision "doesn’t impact the Memorial to Kennedy set up by Congress." White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and Roma Daravi, the center’s vice president of public relations, also confirmed the name change.
Trump’s Role and Response
President Trump serves as the Kennedy Center board chair and selected the board members earlier this year. He praised the vote, calling the board members "the most distinguished people in the country," and told reporters the institution had been "in such bad shape, physically, financially, and in every other way, and now it’s very solid, very strong."
Trump previously joked about the new moniker while emceeing the Kennedy Center Honors, quipping, "The Trump Kennedy Center," then smiling and adding, "Oops."
Reaction to the change has highlighted a split: Kennedy family members see the move as a violation of the late president’s legacy, while center officials and Trump supporters view it as a board decision consistent with governance authority.
Note: The debate raises both symbolic and legal questions about how memorials named by federal law interact with the governance decisions of governing boards.
