A group of House Republicans is pushing to wipe President John F. Kennedy’s name from one of the nation’s most iconic cultural landmarks — and replace it with Donald Trump’s.
Rep. Bob Onder (R-Mo.) recently introduced a bill to rename the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as the “Donald J. Trump Center for the Performing Arts.” The bill is called the Make Entertainment Great Again (MEGA) Act, a nod to Trump’s political slogan.
Onder praised Trump as “a patron of the arts and a staple of the pop-culture landscape.” He added, “I cannot think of a more ubiquitous symbol of American exceptionalism in the arts, entertainment, and popular culture at large than President Trump.”
But the GOP effort doesn’t stop there.
Earlier this month, House Republicans on the Appropriations Committee approved an amendment to rename the Kennedy Center’s iconic opera house as the “First Lady Melania Trump Opera House.”
Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), who backed the move, called it an “excellent way to recognize [Melania Trump’s] support and commitment to promoting the arts.”
Critics are furious. Jack Schlossberg, JFK’s grandson, ripped the bill in a blistering statement.
“A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces — but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers,” Schlossberg said, quoting his grandfather.
Then he added, “The Trump administration stands for freedom of oppression, not expression.”
Trump, who once called the Kennedy Center “too woke,” named himself chair of its board in February. After visiting the building in March, he called it a mess: “We’re going to fix it up, but it’s really emblematic of our country.”
The Kennedy Center was opened in 1971, following President Kennedy’s assassination. Congress renamed the National Cultural Center as a “living memorial” to him in 1964. On its website, the Center says Kennedy was a “lifelong supporter and advocate of the arts” who believed in “our contribution to the human spirit.”
Now, Republicans are trying to erase that legacy — and replace it with the Trump name.
