Maria Shriver ‘Translates’ Trump’s Announcement About ‘Rebuilding’ Kennedy Center: ‘No One Wants to Perform There Any Longer’

• Maria Shriver shared her “translation” of what she believes President Donald Trump meant when he announced he’s closing the Kennedy Center for two years to redesign the facility

• Shriver surmised Trump believes the closure will “get everybody to stop talking about the fact” that entertainers no longer want to perform there

• Shriver’s response comes after months of artists cancelling their appearances at the Kennedy Center in protest of Trump

Maria Shriver is sharing her two cents on President Donald Trump‘s decision to temporarily close the Kennedy Center.

Shriver, the niece of President John F. Kennedy, offered her “translation” of the president’s Feb. 1 announcement that the Kennedy Center — which was established as a memorial for JFK but now also bears Trump’s name on the building — is closing for two years to undergo renovations.

Shriver surmised the closure is a response to entertainers “canceling left and right.”

Trump, 79, wrote in a post on Truth Social over the weekend that closing the center for “Construction, Revitalization, and Complete Rebuilding” was necessary to create “the finest Performing Arts Facility in the world.”

“I have determined that the fastest way to bring The Trump Kennedy Center to the highest level of Success, Beauty, and Grandeur, is to cease Entertainment Operations for an approximately two year period of time,” Trump wrote.

Signage on the Kennedy Center was updated to include Donald Trump’s name in December (Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty)

Shriver, 70, reacted to the shocking news by speculating that the president’s decision to close the facility was due to the scores of artists and performers who have pulled out of scheduled appearances there — an ongoing pattern since Trump added his name to the building.

In a post on X, Shriver shared her interpretation of Trump’s announcement in candid terms.

“Translation: It has been brought to my attention that due to the name change (but nobody’s telling me it’s due to the name change), but it’s been brought to my attention that entertainers are canceling left and right, and I have determined that since the name change no one wants to perform there any longer,” Shriver wrote, sharing what she believes Trump is thinking.

“I’ve determined that due to this change in schedule, it’s best for me to close this center down and rebuild a new center that will bear my name, which will surely get everybody to stop talking about the fact that everybody’s canceling… right?” her post concluded.

Trump first stirred up controversy at the Kennedy Center in February 2025, when he removed many of the center’s board members and installed MAGA loyalists in their place. His newly appointed Kennedy Center board then named Trump chairman of the performing arts institution.

In the months that followed, Trump repeatedly expressed his desire to add his name to the building, which stirred outrage among numerous relatives of JFK, including niece Shriver, niece Kerry Kennedy, grand-nephew Joe Kennedy III and grandson Jack Schlossberg.On Dec. 18, the Kennedy Center board bypassed Congress and voted to rename the institution after Trump. Just one day later, the signage on the building read, “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”

As backlash surrounding Trump’s influence in the Kennedy Center intensified, multiple artists and entertainers who were scheduled to give performances there withdrew — including Béla Fleck, Issa Rae and Chuck Redd, who canceled the traditional Christmas Eve concert at the center, expressly in protest of Trump’s decision to change the center’s name.

Shriver’s reaction to the Kennedy Center’s upcoming closure suggested that the mass cancellations were a contributing factor to Trump’s decision to shut the facility down. — Rachel Raposas