SAT . BREAKING: Maria Shriver Blasts Trump’s Kennedy Center Power Grab — “Just When You Think He Can’t Sink Lower
Maria Shriver, the niece of President John F. Kennedy, did not hold back after Donald Trump and his hand-picked board moved to slap his name onto the Kennedy Center — a cultural landmark built to honor JFK’s legacy, not inflate a sitting president’s ego.
Shriver first posted a blistering, tightly restrained reaction that captured the shock many Americans felt watching Trump attempt to rebrand yet another national institution:
“Some things leave you speechless, and enraged, and in a state of disbelief. At times such as that, it’s better to be quiet. For how long, I can’t say. TDS in full display.”
An hour later, the silence broke — and Shriver delivered a devastating takedown rooted in history, values, and a clear-eyed warning about what’s happening to American democracy:
“The Kennedy Center was named after my uncle, President John F Kennedy. It was named in his honor. He was a man who was interested in the arts, interested in culture, interested in education, language, history. He brought the arts into the White House, and he and my Aunt Jackie amplified the arts, celebrated the arts, stood up for the arts and artists. It is beyond comprehension that this sitting president has sought to rename this great memorial dedicated to President Kennedy. It is beyond wild that he would think adding his name in front of President Kennedy’s name is acceptable. It is not. Next thing perhaps he will want to rename JFK Airport, rename the Lincoln Memorial, the Trump Lincoln Memorial. The Trump Jefferson Memorial. The Trump Smithsonian. The list goes on. Can we not see what is happening here? C’mon, my fellow Americans! Wake up! This is not dignified. This is not funny. This is way beneath the stature of the job. It’s downright weird. It’s obsessive in a weird way. Just when you think someone can’t stoop any lower, down they go…”
Shriver’s message cuts through the noise: this isn’t about partisan politics — it’s about respect for history, culture, and the institutions that belong to all Americans. JFK championed the arts as a public good. Trump treats them like branding opportunities.
From firing board members to scrubbing Pride events to now trying to staple his name onto a Kennedy memorial, Trump’s cultural takeover is no accident. It’s a pattern — one fueled by ego, grievance, and a need to dominate even the spaces meant to unite us.
As Shriver makes painfully clear, this isn’t normal. It isn’t harmless. And it isn’t funny.
It’s a warning — and Americans would do well to listen.
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