Trump's Name-Grab BLOWS UP in His FACE - Legal AF [View all]

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Brian Kabateck and Shant Karnikian discuss Trump's renaming of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to "The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts" after his handpicked board voted December 18, 2025.

Brian explains the Kennedy Center was established by Congress in 1964 weeks after JFK's assassination when President Johnson signed legislation creating it as a living memorial to Kennedy. Shant reads from 20 USC 76 establishing the board's duty to "maintain and administer the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts" as a "living memorial to John Fitzgerald Kennedy"—language setting the name in stone without any modification process. This wasn't administrative designation but an Act of Congress requiring congressional action to change.

Brian notes a MAGA congressman introduced the "Make Entertainment Great Again Act" this summer to legally rename it the Trump Center—a bill that hasn't passed, proving even supporters recognize congressional approval is required. The statute prohibits the board from installing additional memorials after 1983, yet Trump appointed himself board chairman, fired existing members including president Deborah Rutter and chair David Rubenstein, installed loyalists including Usha Vance, Susie Wiles and Laura Ingraham, then had them vote "unanimously"—though Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty said she was muted and couldn't voice opposition.

Georgetown Law Professor David Super confirms changing the name violates federal statute and only Congress can authorize it. The hosts predict lawsuits will challenge this, warning even Republicans who voted for Trump are having second thoughts seeing actions like illegally renaming a presidential memorial. - 12/28/2025.