GOP Bill seeks to rename Kennedy Center after Donald Trump
A bill introduced by Republicans in the US Congress is seeking to rename the world-famous Kennedy Center after President Donald Trump.
The proposal, introduced by Bob Onder, a Republican Representative for Montana, would aim to “designate the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as the ‘Donald J. Trump Center for the Performing Arts.’”
Onder is leading the proposed change as he previously said Trump is “a patron of the arts and a staple of the pop-culture landscape.” To this end, he has named the bill the Make Entertainment Great Again (MEGA) Act.
Explaining his reasons for introducing the bill, Onder added: “I cannot think of a more ubiquitous symbol of American exceptionalism in the arts, entertainment, and popular culture at large than President Trump.”
It comes after Republicans recently also approved another change to the Kennedy Center, renaming its opera house as the First Lady Melania Trump Opera House.
However, the proposed name change in recognition of Trump has been met with widespread backlash, particularly from John F Kennedy’s grandson, Jack Schlossberg, who wrote on social media: “A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces — but also by the men it honours, the men it remembers.”
He added: “The Trump administration stands for freedom of oppression, not expression.”
Trump has been fixated on the Kennedy Center since almost the beginning of his second administration. In February, he made an unprecedented move by removing its existing board and replacing it with himself as chair.
The following month, he then took a tour of the Kennedy Center and said it was in “tremendous disrepair,” noting, “We’re going to fix it up, but it’s really emblematic of our country.”
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