Kennedy family melts down over 'blood boiling' plan to rename beloved opera center for Melania Trump
Maria Shriver, the daughter of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, said the idea of renaming the iconic cultural center makes her 'blood boil.'
'This is insane. It makes my blood boil. It's so ridiculous, so petty, so small minded. 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?,' she wrote on social media.
Shriver, the former first lady of California, is the niece of President John F. Kennedy, for whom the center is named.
Other Kennedy family members had a similar reaction.
Jack Schlossberg, the former president's lone grandson, raged about the matter on Instagram last week, writing: 'Plain reading of the statute makes clear — You cant do that.'
Trump initiated a take over of the Kennedy Center early in his second term and his allies in Congress are doubling-down on that move by attempting to add the Trump name to venue.
There are two separate pieces of legislation moving through the House tied to renaming the center, which sits on the banks of the Potomac River in Washington D.C.
One involves renaming the Opera House after First Lady Melania Trump and is moving through Congress as an amendment to a spending bill that includes funds for the Kennedy Center.
Additionally, Republican Rep. Bob Onder of Missouri introduced the 'Make Entertainment Great Again Act' to rename the whole center the 'Donald J. Trump Center for Performing Arts.'
In his protest of the move, Schlossberg, the son of Caroline Kennedy, cited a 1983 federal law that states: 'No additional memorials or plaques in the nature of memorials shall be designated or installed in the public areas of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.'
Some Democrats are using that statute to argue the center cannot be renamed without specific legislation to overturn that 1983 act.
They say that not even parts of the center can be renamed, such as the Opera House for Melania Trump.
'Legally, they can't just slap her name on it without congressional action,' said a spokesperson for Democratic Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine told NBC News.
'If Republicans can't pass their budget — which they usually can't — the Melania Trump renaming provision dies,' the spokesperson continued. 'The only real wildcard is whether Trump or his allies ignore the law entirely and try to do it unilaterally. But that would have no legal basis — and would almost certainly trigger a court fight.'
Earlier this year, Trump fired President Joe Biden's appointees to the Kennedy board and had himself installed as chairman, ousting longtime leader David Rubenstein.
Trump then appointed Special Presidential Envoy Ric Grenell as acting Kennedy Center president and executive director.
In appointing his longtime loyalist to head the center, Trump wrote on social media that Grenell would be overseeing daily operations to ensure 'no more drag shows or other anti-American propaganda' are hosted at the iconic arts center.
In his first term, Trump avoided the center, refusing to attend its annual Kennedy Center Honors after some of the artists being featured threatened to boycott if he attended.
The first couple showed up at Kennedy Center following his takeover, attending a showing of 'Les Misérables' at the iconic venue in early June.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
18 minutes ago
- The Independent
Trump's most trusted advisors? His TV — and sometimes Melania
The President of the United States sits atop a vast apparatus of intelligence collection and information gathering that can harness the country's full technological and diplomatic might to bring him the latest and most accurate information on any given topic. He can request satellite photographs that show startling details of almost anywhere in the world that isn't covered. He can ask for 'signals intelligence' gleaned from surveillance of the world's telecommunications networks — or from the latest dispatches from spies located in far-flung spots where most Americans would not dare to tread. But as Donald Trump has shifted his positions on a pair of major foreign policy matters — the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza and America's support for Ukraine in their defense against Russia — he hasn't turned to his cabinet for counsel or really anyone in his administration for information. Instead, the president has been moved to action by two prime drivers: the same grim images of destruction and death on his television screen that have caused even the most strident of voices to acknowledge the stark human toll exacted by war in each region, and the counsel of perhaps his closest, if unofficial, advisor — first lady Melania Trump. In the case of Gaza, Trump came into office buoyed by the success of his hand-picked Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, in brokering a temporary ceasefire deal with the help of his counterpart from the outgoing Biden administration. But that ceasefire soon collapsed as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resumed his offensive against Hamas and choked off all humanitarian aid to the besieged enclave while driving the Gazan population into smaller and smaller territory. During Netanyahu's first visit to the White House in February, the president stoked fears of ethnic cleansing long held by pro-Palestinian groups when he suggested having the U.S. take control of Gaza and relocate the Gazan population to multiple smaller sites that would be constructed and funded by 'neighboring countries of great wealth' and located in 'other countries of interest with humanitarian hearts.' Over the next few months, he largely left Netanayahu to his own devices as the Israeli leader continued to prosecute the war as a way to placate extremist voices in his cabinet who threatened to destabilize his government if he accepted any manner of ceasefire agreement. But over the last few days, Trump has joined the chorus of leaders who are now loudly calling for Netanyahu to stop cutting off most aid to Gaza, citing disturbing images and stories of starvation that have broken through into even the most conservative of pro-Israel of news sources. During a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on Monday, Trump said Israel bore a 'lot of responsibility' for what he described as 'real starvation' in the territory, directly contradicting Netanyahu's insistence that nothing of the sort has taken place. Trump added that the images and reports emerging from the enclave 'cannot be faked'. And when asked if he agreed with the Israeli leader's remarks about concerns of mass starvation in Gaza being overstated, he replied: "I don't know. I mean, based on television, I would say not particularly because those children look very hungry." It wasn't the first time the president had been moved to action by images of children in peril delivered by his favorite form of entertainment. Months into his first term, in April 2017, he addressed reporters about images of carnage from the now-defunct Assad regime's use of chemical weapons — Sarin nerve gas — against the town of Khan Sheikhun. 'I will tell you that attack on children yesterday had a big impact on me – big impact,' Trump said while speaking in the White House's rose garden, just steps from the Oval Office. 'My attitude toward Syria and Assad has changed very much … You're now talking about a whole different level.' 'When you kill innocent children, innocent babies, babies, little babies, with a chemical gas that is so lethal – people were shocked to hear what gas it was. That crosses many, many lines, beyond a red line, many, many lines,' he added. Days later, he ordered a series of cruise missile strikes against targets in Syria, his first use of military force since assuming office three months earlier. Trump also appeared to reverse himself on a foreign policy matter earlier this month when he overrode top Pentagon officials who'd put a hold on American weapons shipments bound for Ukraine, citing images transmitted out of Kyiv in the aftermath of Russian drone attacks against civilian targets such as apartment buildings. A Trump administration official who spoke to The Independent on condition of anonymity said the president makes decisions based on what he believes to be the best information available to him at any given time and said his invocation of horrific televised images shows he cares about protecting children. 'He's a grandfather, he's a family man, and images of hurt or starving children anger him just as much as any in the country who has a heart,' they said. Trump's reversals on aid to Ukraine and on the need for Israel to allow more food into Gaza have another factor in common. In each case, the president has acknowledged the influence of First Lady Melania Trump in his decision-making process. When he ordered the Pentagon to resume shipping defensive weapons to Kyiv this month, he described a conversation he'd had with his Slovenian-born wife following a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "I go home, I tell the first lady, 'I spoke to Vladimir today, we had a wonderful conversation.' And she says, 'Oh really? Another city was just hit,'" he said. And on Tuesday as he returned to Washington aboard Air Force One, he told reporters that his wife thinks the situation in Gaza is 'terrible.' 'She sees the same pictures that you see, that we all see, and I think everybody, unless they're pretty cold hearted, or worse than that, nuts, there's nothing you can say other than it's terrible when you see the kids,' he said. Megan Mobbs, the daughter of Trump's Ukraine envoy General Keith Kellogg, told The Telegraph that when it comes to the First Lady, Trump 'deeply values her counsel.' 'They have a very, open, conversational relationship and she is one of his closest advisers,' said Mobbs, who currently lives in Kyiv running the RT Weatherman Foundation humanitarian mission. The former model's influence on the president might come as a surprise given that unlike most who've filled the unpaid, unofficial role of first lady, Mrs. Trump is understood to spend most of her time in New York, where she and the president's son, Barron Trump, attends NYU. The White House would not discuss the first lady's schedule or whereabouts, but a source close to the president cautioned against discounting her influence based on where she may or not be on any given day.
Daily Mail
19 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Blow for Stephen Colbert's ego as canceled talk show host Samantha Bee says his axing was 'no brainer'
Canceled late-night host Samantha Bee has said Stephen Colbert's Late Show was terminated for 'hemorrhaging' money and viewers, in a 'no-brainer' move by CBS. Bee, 55, who had hosted TBS's 'Full Frontal with Samantha Bee' before it was canceled in 2022, gave her two cents on the decision by the broadcaster to end Colbert's show. Speaking on the Breaking Bread with Tom Papa podcast, Bee said she believes the show was failing and that CBS parent company Paramount was also currying favor with Trump in order to gain federal approval for their merger deal with Skydance when they axed Colbert. 'I think both things are true. It definitely was hemorrhaging money. These legacy shows are hemorrhaging money with no real end to that in sight, people are just not tuning in', she said. Bee added: 'People are literally on their phones all the time for one thing, so they actually don't necessarily need a recap of the day's events. They're very well-versed in what has happened. 'It is also true that when the president of the United States has to give his sign off on a corporate merger, the thing you can't do is make jokes about him. 'He's a thin-skinned idiot and we know he's like a pernicious cancer and he cares about that stuff', she later said the move to axe Colbert was a 'no brainer'. CBS said the move to axe Colbert was due to low viewership and a decline in profits, but critics have echoed Bee's sentiment that the network crumbled under pressure from Trump. Bee said she believes the show was failing and that CBS parent company Paramount was also currying favor with Trump to greenlight their merger with Skydance CBS said the move to axe Colbert was due to low viewership and a decline in profits Paramount decided to settle for $16 million on a suit over deceptive editing of a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris filed by Trump. Colbert then used the term 'big fat bribe' to describe the settlement on-air, two days later it was announced that his show would disappear from screens. Paramount was planning a merger with media company Skydance at the time and needed the approval of Trump's Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The merger clears the way for an $8.4 billion sale of some of the most prominent names in entertainment, including CBS, Paramount Pictures, and Nickelodeon. 'Insiders' immediately maintained to publications like Puck and Variety the top-rated show was canceled due to being a money pit what was losing $40million a year. Colbert earns between $15 million and $20 million a year, with his staff likely making up most of the rest of the cost. Following the announcement of The Late Show's cancellation, Trump took to Truth Social to gloat over the news in a celebratory post. 'I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings,' he wrote. Critics believe that the network crumbled under pressure from Trump and his administration in axing Colbert The merger deal was approved by the FCC last week. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said the agency's review of the proposed merger was not connected to the lawsuit. Carr said he welcomed 'Skydance's commitment to make significant changes at the once storied CBS broadcast network. 'In particular, Skydance has made written commitments to ensure that the new company's programming embodies a diversity of viewpoints from across the political and ideological spectrum.' Carr also hailed what he called a victory in 'the FCC's efforts to eliminate invidious forms of DEI discrimination.' The FCC voted 2-1 to approve the deal, with Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez dissenting.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
12 members of Congress sue Trump administration to ensure access to ICE detention centers
A dozen Democratic members of Congress who have been blocked from making oversight visits at immigration detention centers filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against the Trump administration that seeks to ensure they are granted entry into the facilities, even without prior notice. The lawsuit, filed in the District of Columbia's federal court, said the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are obstructing Congressional oversight of the centers at a time when there's been an increase in ICE arrests, with reports of raids across the country and people taken into custody at immigration courts. By law, members of Congress are allowed to visit ICE facilities and don't have to give any notice, but increasingly, the members have been stopped at the door. ICE officials have said a new rule requires a seven-day waiting period and they prohibit entry to the ICE field offices. The lawsuit asks the court for full and immediate access to all ICE facilities. ICE Director Todd Lyons told a congressional committee in May that he recognized the right of members of Congress to visit detention facilities, even unannounced. But DHS Secretary Kristi Noem told a different committee that members of Congress should have requested a tour of an immigration detention facility in New Jersey where a skirmish broke out in May. As President Donald Trump's immigration agenda plays out, detention facilities have become overcrowded and there have been reports of mistreatment, food shortages, a lack of medical care and unsanitary conditions, the lawsuit said. Congress has a duty to make sure the administration is complying with the law while operating the facilities, the lawsuit said. The recently passed budget bill allocates $45 billion for ICE detention — more than 13 times ICE's current annual detention budget, the lawsuit said. Members of Congress must ensure those funds are spent efficiently and legally, the suit said. But recent attempts by House members to visit facilities were blocked, the lawsuit said. 'These members of Congress could have just scheduled a tour; instead, they're running to court to drive clicks and fundraising emails," DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin told the AP in an email. Requests for visits to detention centers should be made 'with sufficient time to prevent interference with the President's Article II authority to oversee executive department functions—a week is sufficient to ensure no intrusion on the President's constitutional authority,' she said. Also, ICE has seen a surge in assaults, disruptions and obstructions to law enforcement so any requests for tours of ICE processing centers and field offices must be approved by Secretary Noem, McLaughlin said. When Rep. Veronica Escobar tried to visit the El Paso center on July 9, ICE told her that they could not accommodate her attendance and said it is 'now requiring requests to be made seven calendar days in advance,' the lawsuit said. When the Democrat arrived at the center, she was denied entry. Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colorado, met a similar fate when he tried to visit the ICE Aurora Facility on July 20. 'ICE is holding men, women, and children in overcrowded rooms without beds, showers, or medical care — sometimes for days on end," Chioma Chukwu, executive director of American Oversight, which filed the lawsuit with Democracy Forward. 'ICE's stonewalling is not only illegal — it's a brazen attempt to shield abuse from scrutiny.' While ICE is demanding a week's notice for detention center visits, it said it's prohibiting members of Congress from inspecting ICE field offices, where some detainees are being held. When Rep. Daniel Goldman, D-New York, tried to tour the ICE New York Field Office in June, he was told his oversight authority doesn't apply there, because it's not a "detention facility." When Goldman went to the office, the deputy director barred his entry, but confirmed that people were being held overnight, sometimes for several days, but the facility did not have beds or showers. Reps. Joe Neguse, D-Colorado; Bennie Thompson, D-Mississippi; and Jamie Raskin, D-Maryland, made a similar attempt to enter the ICE Washington Field Office in Chantilly, Virgini,a on July 21 after learning that people were being detained there. But they also were turned away without being able to view the conditions at the site. The other House members who are fighting for ICE access include: California Democratic Representatives Norma Torres, Raul Ruiz, Jimmy Gomez, Jose Luis Correa and Robert Garcia. Also suing is Adriano Espaillat, D-New York. 'No child should be sleeping on concrete, and no sick person should be denied care, yet that's exactly what we keep hearing is happening inside Trump's detention centers," Gomez said in a statement. "This lawsuit is our message: We as Members of Congress will do our job, and we will not let these agencies operate in the shadows.'
