GOP Bill Would Strip Kennedy’s Name from Landmark Arts Center and Rename It After Trump
A newly introduced bill from Rep. Bob Onder (R-Mo.) proposes removing President John F. Kennedy’s name from Washington’s most iconic arts institution and replacing it with that of former President Donald Trump. If passed, the bill would rename the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as the “Donald J. Trump Center for the Performing Arts.”
The proposal, which Onder has dubbed the Make Entertainment Great Again (MEGA) Act, is a nod to Trump’s 2016 campaign slogan and positions Trump as an unparalleled cultural figure. “I cannot think of a more ubiquitous symbol of American exceptionalism in the arts, entertainment, and popular culture at large than President Trump,” Onder said in a statement.
The move comes just weeks after House Republicans passed an amendment to rename the Kennedy Center’s opera house after Melania Trump. That change rebranding the space as the “First Lady Melania Trump Opera House” sparked heated reactions from critics, including John F. Kennedy’s grandson, Jack Schlossberg.
Schlossberg criticized the trend of replacing names with Trump-branded tributes. In a pointed social media post, he quoted his grandfather: “A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers.” He went on to argue that Trump’s values run counter to those traditionally championed by the arts: “The Trump administration stands for freedom of oppression, not expression,” Schlossberg wrote.
Despite the criticism, Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), who supported the Melania Trump opera house amendment, called it an “excellent way to recognize her support and commitment to promoting the arts.”
Trump has taken an unusually hands-on role in the institution’s future. Earlier this year, he overhauled the Kennedy Center’s board, removed long-standing members, and named himself chair an unprecedented move. He claimed the center had become “too woke” and pledged to restore it.
After visiting the center in March, Trump told reporters it was in “tremendous disrepair” and symbolic of what he described as the nation’s cultural decline. “We’re going to fix it up,” he said. “It’s emblematic of the state of our country.”
The Kennedy Center, opened in 1971, has long served as a living memorial to John F. Kennedy, who was an advocate for the arts and famously emphasized America’s “contribution to the human spirit.” That designation came just two months after his assassination, when Congress and President Lyndon B. Johnson formally renamed the National Cultural Center in Kennedy’s honor.
While Onder’s bill is unlikely to pass in a divided Congress, it underscores the ongoing effort by some Republicans to recast cultural institutions in Trump’s image and spark a broader debate over who deserves to be remembered.