Richard Grenell has been busy slaying haters after it was announced that the Kennedy Center would be renamed to include President Trump.

Grenell, who serves as the Kennedy Center’s president, has been an integral part of the performing arts center’s restoration under the Trump administration. The Kennedy Center had been widely reported to be in a state of disrepair and neglect for years, until Trump and his team decided to make it great again.

With the announcement of the new “Trump-Kennedy Center” name came a predictable onslaught of disgust and attacks from Democrats and Kennedy family members — who have been accused of not caring one iota about the place until now.

The Kennedy Center was named after my uncle, President John F Kennedy. It was named in his honor. He was a man who was interested in the arts, interested in culture, interested in education, language, history. He brought the arts into the White House, and he and my Aunt Jackie… pic.twitter.com/wcGjTp2uqa

— Maria Shriver (@mariashriver) December 18, 2025

“It is beyond comprehension that this sitting president has sought to rename this great memorial dedicated to President Kennedy,” Shriver’s post continued. “It is beyond wild that he would think adding his name in front of President Kennedy’s name is acceptable. It is not.

“Next thing perhaps he will want to rename JFK Airport, rename the Lincoln Memorial, the Trump Lincoln Memorial. The Trump Jefferson Memorial. The Trump Smithsonian. The list goes on.

“Can we not see what is happening here? C’mon, my fellow Americans! Wake up! This is not dignified. This is not funny. This is way beneath the stature of the job. It’s downright weird. It’s obsessive in a weird way. Just when you think somone can’t stoop any lower, down they go…”

But where was Shriver’s passion for the place when it was all but ignored — for decades.

That’s what Grenell wanted to know.

“Where you been, Maria?” he sarcastically responded, adding that she should be thanking President Trump.

The place was literally falling apart and you didn’t help – at all.

Where you been, Maria? You were completely silent while the building crumbled.

Donald Trump had to step in and save it because you didn’t help.

You should thank him. https://t.co/ngBPNkrf4w

— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) December 18, 2025

Grenell also reposted the following statements that echoed his point:

I was shocked when I attended a performance at the Kennedy Center in 2018.

It was run down, the cafeteria was empty with only vending machines full of junk food.
There were water spots on the ceiling in many of the rooms.
The outside balcony could not be used—too unstable.

— Fire (@Sayin_It_Now) December 18, 2025

Maria, you treated this monument like a trust fund, draining its prestige while ignoring its maintenance. You watched the roof rot while reciting poetry about culture. Trump acted. He poured concrete where you poured only platitudes. The savior of the structure earns the right to…

— Saggezza Eterna (@FinalTelegraph) December 18, 2025

Grenell stuck to his guns and cast a wider net when he followed up and reiterated his point later in the day:

There are lots of powerful people who ignored the Kennedy Center for decades and stayed silent as it fell apart suddenly pretending like they are the protectors of the new Trump Kennedy Center.

The place needed money and attention – Donald Trump saved it.

— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) December 19, 2025

Bravo.

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