President Donald Trump’s loyalist board of trustees voted Thursday to rename the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, placing Trump’s name alongside the Democratic-era president.
From now on, the venue will officially be called the “Trump-Kennedy Center,” the White House announced.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt took to social media to celebrate the decision, calling Trump’s contributions “unbelievable” and claiming he saved both the building and its “reputation.”
“Congratulations to President Donald J. Trump, and likewise, congratulations to President Kennedy, because this will be a truly great team long into the future! The building will no doubt attain new levels of success and grandeur,” she wrote.
Trump, who chairs the board, has long called the venue by his preferred nickname, according to CNN. During his first term, he paid it little mind. But since returning to the White House in January, he has replaced board members appointed by Democratic presidents with loyalists and openly criticized the center’s programming.
He also secured more than $250 million from the Republican-controlled Congress for renovations. Trump attended the opening night of “Les Misérables” in June and hosted last week’s Kennedy Center Honors—a program he skipped entirely during his first term. According to the Associated Press, the awards show is set to air on CBS and Paramount+ on Dec. 23.
The renaming vote occurred during a board meeting in which Trump called in. CNN reports that Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty, an ex-officio member, attempted to object but was muted, adding doubt to declarations that the vote was unanimous.
“The Kennedy Center Board of Trustees voted unanimously today to name the institution The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts,” spokeswoman Roma Daravi said. “The unanimous vote recognizes that the current Chairman saved the institution from financial ruin and physical destruction. The new Trump-Kennedy Center reflects the unequivocal bipartisan support for America’s cultural center for generations to come.”
Trump has been dangling the idea for weeks, joking about the “Trump-Kennedy Center” while calling it the site of the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw.
Then, on Dec. 7, he told reporters, “And that’s not up to me, that’s up to the board. The board makes that decision. We have a very prestigious board. If you look at the names—I don’t think there is a board like it.”
The center’s board is a who’s who of MAGA loyalists, including chief of staff Susie Wiles, Attorney General Pam Bondi, deputy White House chief of staff Dan Scavino, second lady Usha Vance, and Allison Lutnick, wife of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
In other words, don’t expect a dissenting vote.
Kennedy family members are less amused. Maria Shriver, John F. Kennedy’s niece, called earlier efforts to rebrand the Kennedy Center “insane.”
“It makes my blood boil. It’s so ridiculous, so petty, so small minded,” she wrote. “Truly, what is this about? It’s always about something. ‘Let’s get rid of the Rose Garden. Let’s rename the Kennedy Center.’ What’s next?”
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The Kennedy Center renaming is just the latest in a long line of moves by Trump to put his stamp—and his name—on American institutions, from White House renovations to plaques in the colonnade, turning even cultural landmarks into personal monuments.
Taken together, these moves illustrate a president treating America’s cultural landmarks like personal trophies—turning even one of the nation’s premier arts venues into a monument to his own ego.
