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Kennedy Center renaming row: Board voting rigged? Massive allegation emerges: 'I was muted'
Board members and lawmakers challenge unanimous renaming of Kennedy Center as board member Joyce Beatty says she was muted in virtual vote.
A growing controversy has emerged over the renaming of the iconic John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts after President Donald Trump’s allies on the board voted to add his name.
Intense discussion has erupted in political, legal, and cultural spheres over the board's decision to rename the organization the Trump-Kennedy Center. Many contend that the vote's legitimacy is in doubt and that the move may violate federal law governing memorials.
Read more: Kennedy Center renamed: Who is on the board? Trump announcement raises questions
Beatty says the vote wasn't unanimous
Representative Joyce Beatty, an ex officio board member of the Kennedy Center and Democratic congresswoman, raised new allegations that the board vote was not truly unanimous as claimed by the White House. She said, “For the record. This was not unanimous. I was muted on the call and not allowed to speak or voice my opposition to this move.”
She further wrote on X, “Also for the record, this was not on the agenda. This is censorship.”
Her comments came after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt described the board’s vote as “unanimous”, lauding the change as recognition of Trump’s role in helping revitalise the famed performing arts centre. But Beatty’s statement directly contradicts that narrative and suggests internal disagreement was suppressed.
Opponents of the name change have taken up her claims and are questioning the decision-making process and the lack of transparency, particularly because the renaming was not listed on the meeting agenda.
Read more: Famed Kennedy arts center to be renamed 'Trump-Kennedy Center'
Trump's role in the renaming
President Trump had appointed himself as board chairman after overhauling its membership earlier this year.
Assuming his position, Trump has defended the renaming as a deserved tribute for “saving” the centre from financial and structural decline.
Several Democratic lawmakers, like Representative Steve Cohen, have publicly argued that renaming the centre disrespects history and could be inappropriate or legally problematic because the venue was created specifically as a memorial to President Kennedy by an act of Congress.
The Kennedy's outrage
President John F. Kennedy's grandson, Jack Schlossberg, strongly condemned the renaming vote and connected Beatty's accusations to larger political agendas. Schlossberg characterized the choice as an effort to obscure JFK's legacy.
“I won’t be drowned out,” Schlossberg wrote.
Joe Kennedy III, a great-nephew of JFK, said the Kennedy Center “can no sooner be renamed than someone could rename the Lincoln Memorial,” stressing that the centre is a memorial established by federal law and that the board’s action may lack legal authority.
