Kennedy Center Board votes to rename facility after Donald Trump
Step forward for Kennedy Center renaming, plus Trump announces "Patriot Games"
The Board of the Kennedy Center voted unanimously Thursday to rename the center to the "Trump-Kennedy Center." President Trump also announced the first "Patriot Games," a four-day athletic event that will feature high school athletes from each state.
WASHINGTON - The Kennedy Center Board voted Thursday to rename the facility, at least partially, after President Donald Trump.
Kennedy Center renamed
What we know:
The Board of the Kennedy Center voted unanimously Thursday to rename the center to the "Trump-Kennedy Center," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced.
In a post on X, Leavitt said that the decision to rename the Kennedy Center was due to "the unbelievable work President Trump has done over the last year in saving the building."
"Congratulations to President Donald J. Trump, and likewise, congratulations to President Kennedy, because this will be a truly great team long into the future," Leavitt said. "The building will no doubt attain new levels of success and grandeur."
The backstory:
The Kennedy Center was established in 1958 and renamed in honor of President John F. Kennedy in 1964.
President Trump has been critical of some of the center's previous programming, and in February, announced plans to remove several members of the Board of Trustees. Former Chairman David M. Rubenstein, a billionaire investor and philanthropist who had served in the role since 2010, was one of those removed.
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Trump elected chairman of Kennedy Center, replaces board with loyalists
Less than a week after announcing his intention to take over the role, President Donald Trump was elected chairman of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday.
The board is now made entirely of Trump appointees.
Less than a week after the board shakeup, the board unanimously voted Trump the new Chairman.
In July, Congress approved renaming the Kennedy Center Opera House after First Lady Melania Trump.
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What they're saying:
A name change won’t sit well with some Kennedy family members.
Maria Shriver, a niece of John F. Kennedy, referred to the legislation introduced in Congress to rebrand the Kennedy Center as the Donald J. Trump Center for the Performing Arts as "insane" in a social media post in July.
"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?"
Trump-Kennedy Center
What's next:
It's not clear when the change will officially take effect.
The Source: Information in this story is from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on X, the Associated Press and previous FOX 5 reports.