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US President Donald Trump has completed his takeover of Washington’s Kennedy Centre after the White House said its board approved renaming the institution the “Trump-Kennedy Centre.”
“I was surprised by it; I was honoured by it,” Trump told reporters after the announcement of the board decision, despite having repeatedly talked about a name change for the centre in the past.
Karoline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary, said that the highly respected board of the Kennedy Centre had “voted unanimously” to take the extraordinary step of renaming it after a living president.
She added that it was because of 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!”
Some Democrats, meanwhile, denied that the vote was unanimous.
Joyce Beatty, a lawmaker who still holds a place on the board through a congressional mandate, said she was “muted on the call.”
According to AFP, family members of slain US President John F. Kennedy, after whom the arts venue is named, slammed the decision and said it could not be renamed without the approval of Congress.
“Can we not see what is happening here? C’mon, my fellow Americans! Wake up!” JFK’s niece, Maria Shriver, said on X (formerly Twitter).
She added that it was “beyond wild” of Trump to think it was acceptable to add his name before her uncle’s.
Former congressman Joe Kennedy III said the centre was a “living memorial” to his great-uncle and “can no sooner be renamed than someone can rename the Lincoln Memorial, no matter what anyone says.”
Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. The imposing white marble arts centre, which sits on the banks of the Potomac River, opened in 1971.
Trump had hinted at the name change on a number of occasions in recent months.
Earlier this month, he referred to a “big event at the Trump-Kennedy Centre—whoops, excuse me, at the Kennedy Centre… Pardon me, such a terrible mistake.”
Trump made the comments at a peace institute that had also been recently renamed after him. Since his return to office, he has also named a new “golden” visa and bank accounts for newborns after himself.
