Maria Shriver, the niece of President John F. Kennedy, wasn’t having it with President Donald Trump on Tuesday after he insisted the Kennedy Center, a “living memorial” to her late uncle, would not see renovations until his name is added to the building.
“It seems that this man will not rest until his name is permanently connected to the name of a great president,” Shriver wrote in a social media post.
Trump, in a post on his Truth Social platform, flexed his handpicked board’s decision to immediately close the cultural institution “for safety reasons” on Tuesday hours after a federal judge blocked recent efforts to put the words “renovated and restored by President Donald J. Trump” onto the building.
“The Renovation and Reconstruction, which is a very large and complex job, cannot begin until such time as the D.C. Circuit rules on the Board’s approved name,” wrote Trump, who has argued that such renovations are needed.
“If the ruling is a negative one, which it should not be, and is not overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Reconstruction and the Renovation of The Kennedy Center will not take place.”
Shriver, the daughter of the late president’s sister Eunice Kennedy Shriver, wrote that the post “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,” wrote Shriver, who celebrated her late uncle’s “birthday gift” after a judge ruled in May that Trump’s name must be stripped from the center.
“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.”
She went on to suggest that the president has bigger fish to fry.
“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,” she wrote.
“Enough said. Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
Kerry Kennedy, John F. Kennedy’s niece and the sister of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., similarly called the board’s decision to close the center a “tragedy” in an interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett.
“The American people love the Kennedy Center, they love the arts, they understand what’s going on, they see the corruption of this,” said Kennedy, who noted there wasn’t a “financial issue” at play. (Congress allocated over $250 million for renovations last year, per The Associated Press.)
On Wednesday, fencing was installed around the building, adding fuel to fears about its future and whether it could be demolished.