According to William Shakespeare, “That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet.”

That’s true: rename it “stinkweed,” and it would still look and smell like a rose. But sometimes in life, the purpose behind the renaming is more significant than the name itself. And such is the case with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

Donald Trump, as the lifelong victim of his own insecurity and malignant narcissism, has to have his name emblazoned on everything . . . preferably in gigantic, gold-plated letters visible from space. But no longer content with building skyscraper hotels, golf courses, numerous failed business ventures, and tacky souvenirs bearing the Trump moniker, he has now had the venerable Kennedy Center renamed for himself.

According to Kennedy Center spokeswoman Roma Daravi:

“The Kennedy Center Board of Trustees voted unanimously today to name the institution The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. The unanimous vote recognizes that the current Chairman saved the institution from financial ruin and physical destruction. The new Trump Kennedy Center reflects the unequivocal bipartisan support for America’s cultural center for generations to come.” [Betsy Klein, CNN, December 18, 2025.]

Trump himself pretended to be taken aback by the Board’s action, saying:

“I was honored by this. The board is a very distinguished board, most distinguished people in the country. And I was surprised by it. This was brought up by one of the very distinguished board members, and they voted on it, and there’s a lot of board members, and they voted unanimously.” [Id.]

There are just a couple of things wrong with those statements, besides the fact that the Kennedy Center’s name was mandated by law in 1964, and can only be officially changed by Congressional vote — a technicality of no significance to Trump, who believes himself to be above the law.

First of all, the Board’s action was neither unanimous nor bipartisan. One of the Board’s members, Ohio Democratic Representative Joyce Beatty, was on the conference-call meeting, but has said in a post on X:

“I was on that call and as I tried to push my button to voice my concern, to ask questions, and certainly not to vote in support of this, I was muted. Each time I tried to speak, I was muted.” [Id.]

Secondly, Trump has been hinting for months that he would love to have his name attached to the Center. The Board — a hand-picked group of his cronies installed after he fired the previous members — were merely acting on his wishes . . . just as they did when they elected him Chairman of the Board. Surprise!

And finally, Trump’s claims that he has saved the Kennedy Center from physical and financial ruin are, at best, greatly exaggerated. In fact, since his takeover of the institution — including being “98% involved” in the selection of this year’s Kennedy Center honorees, in which “wokesters” were rejected from consideration — ticket sales have plummeted, long-time season subscribers have unsubscribed, and numerous performers have pulled out in protest. [Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu and Bernd Debusmann, Jr., BBC, December 18, 2025.]

What remains is Donald Trump’s idea of culture. Coming from a man whose tastes run to gold-plated trinkets, artery-clogging McDonald’s junk food, and neckties that cover the fly of his trousers . . . well, let’s just say his definition of “culture” is not the same as Webster’s Unabridged.

And I have to wonder what else he’ll take credit for. Perhaps the Trump-Washington Monument, the Trump-Lincoln Memorial, or the Trump-Smithsonian Institution? How about — from a guy who used bone spurs as an excuse to escape military service — the Trump-Vietnam Memorial?

Or why not go all the way, and simply rename the nation’s capital:

TRUMPLANDIA

That has a nice, Orwellian ring to it, don’t you think?

So, do you really want to know what’s in a name? Apparently, if your name is Trump, it’s everything.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/18/25