WASHINGTON – A House Republican is proposing to rename the iconic John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts after President Donald Trump.
Missouri Rep. Bob Onder has dubbed his bill the “Make Entertainment Great Again Act” and would re-designate the District of Columbia institution that was named in remembrance of Kennedy, the 35th president who was assassinated in 1963. Onder’s plan would change the building’s name to the “Donald J. Trump Center for Performing Arts” and comes after a key House panel also voted to put first lady Melania Trump’s name on the Kennedy Center’s opera house.
Onder in a statement said Trump has “entertained audiences for decades,” referring to the two-term Republican president’s prior run as host of the reality TV show “The Apprentice” and appearances in films such as “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.”
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“I cannot think of a more ubiquitous symbol of American exceptionalism in the arts, entertainment, and popular culture at large than President Trump,” added Onder, a freshman GOP lawmaker who represents a central Missouri district that includes the suburbs of St. Louis, Columbia and Jefferson City.
But the proposal quickly received pushback from critics. Maria Shriver, a niece of former President Kennedy and also the former first lady of California, said it makes her “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 X.
With House lawmakers out for their annual summer break, there won’t be much action taken on the bill until after they return.
In February, Trump appointed himself chairman of the Kennedy Center and pushed out billionaire philanthropist David M. Rubenstein, who previously served in the role. He also dismissed individuals part of the chair’s board of trustees.
Trump complained of “woke” programming at the Kennedy Center, citing “drag shows” held there as one of the reasons for taking command of the center and vowing to stop such performances.
The Kennedy Center, affiliated with the National Symphony Orchestra and Washington National Opera, hosts more than 2,000 performances a year. It is described as the “living memorial” to Kennedy on its website.
USA TODAY reached out to the Kennedy Center for comment.
Contributing: Joey Garrison and Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: GOP lawmaker introduces bill to rename Kennedy Center after Trump
