Maria Shriver and Kerry Kennedy Slam Trump Board’s Vote to Close Kennedy Center

Angel SaundersWed, September 16, 2026 at 1:06 PM UTC

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Kerry Kennedy; Maria ShriverCredit: Drew Hallowell/Getty; Astrida Valigorsky/Getty -

Maria Shriver and Kerry Kennedy criticized Trump for halting renovations to the Kennedy Center over naming rights this week

Trump’s board reportedly voted to close the building on Tuesday, Sept. 15, after a judge blocked his name from being added to it

Shriver called the situation “narcissistic” and both urged Trump to focus on pressing national issues instead

Maria Shriver and Kerry Kennedy are speaking out against President Donald Trump and the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees for voting to close the performing arts venue on Tuesday, Sept. 15, after a judge blocked Trump’s name from being put back on the exterior.

“This is a tragedy,” Kennedy, daughter of the late Robert F. Kennedy and sister of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., said during an interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett, hours after the Trump-appointed board’s vote.

“The American people love the Kennedy Center, they love the arts, they understand what’s going on, they see the corruption of this,” Kennedy, 67, said, adding, “There’s not a financial issue here.”

Kerry Kennedy; Maria ShriverCredit: Dia Dipasupil/Getty; Ethan Miller/Getty

Earlier on Tuesday, Trump, 80, claimed on Truth Social that while his board of trustees voted “almost unanimously, to close the Building for Safety reasons,” the project cannot proceed “until such time as the D.C. Circuit rules on the Board’s approved name,” meaning his name has been restored on the exterior.

Congress has allocated $257 million to cover renovations at the Kennedy Center, the reported.

The board now includes Trump aides and allies, including White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, “God Bless the USA” singer Lee Greenwood and recently departed Fox News host Maria Bartiromo. The board voted in August to add Trump’s name to the facade, so it would read “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated By President Donald J. Trump.” A federal judge has ruled twice that Trump’s name cannot be added.

“Simply put, Defendants cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress’s blessing,” U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper wrote in his Sept. 15 ruling, the AP reported.

Kennedy also pointed out that Trump previously said there’s approximately “$250 million ready to hand over tomorrow, he’s just withholding it because he wants his name on the building.”

When asked about Trump’s comments in a separate Truth Social post claiming he’s “the only one” who could save the center, Kennedy told Burnett, “We have real pain in our country” to worry about, referring to the “skyrocketing” cost of living.

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“President Trump, please, focus on what’s more important, leave the Kennedy Center alone,” Kennedy said.

Shriver, daughter of Eunice Kennedy and Sargent Shriver, also weighed in on social media, reposting his Truth Social message and adding one of her own.

“This statement from Trump blows my mind. That a sitting president would not let any renovations to a public building go on unless he gets to first put his name in the said building… What a sad state of affairs. What a tragedy. Actually, how small minded, how narcissistic. Actually great men, devoted to public service and the public good do not act like this,” Shriver, 70, tweeted.

President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, The Kennedy Center, June 11, 2025, Washington, DCCredit: Shannon Finney/Getty

“It seems that this man will not rest until his name is permanently connected to the name of a great president, whose memory this building was dedicated to,” Shriver continued. “Imagine spending your time and your days focused on this, as everyday Americans struggle with healthcare, gas prices, rent, and food. Imagine spending your days focused on this, while a war rages under your leadership.”

In her interview with Burnett, Shriver reiterated that there’s no issue on whether or not funds are available for renovations, but that the situation “is a hostage taking by the president of the United States.”

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Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty, an ex-officio Kennedy Center board member who filed a lawsuit to stop Trump’s name from being added to the building, agreed.

“The law is extremely clear: The John F. Kennedy Center is named for President Kennedy—and no one else,” Beatty said in a statement to NPR ahead of the board’s vote. “But President Trump is holding the Kennedy Center hostage unless he can put his name on this sacred memorial. The Court just rejected this proposal for the second time. This unlawfulness is as breathtaking as it is wrong, and it needs to stop.”

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Source: “AOL Breaking”