Kennedy Center Board member is setting the record straight on the ‘unanimous vote’ to rename the Center after Trump
The White House celebrated a unanimous vote to rename the Kennedy Center, one of the country’s most important cultural institutions. But Congresswoman Joyce Beatty exposed the lie. Apparently, the vote only looked unanimous because dissent never made it past the mute button.
On Thursday, the White House announced that the Kennedy Center had been renamed the “Trump Kennedy Center.” Spokeswoman Roma Daravi announced, “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.” (via CNN) Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also joined in, framing it as a historic moment.
According to Leavitt, the decision was made unanimously by a board of “highly respected” figures impressed by Trump. But the narrative collapsed within hours. Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, an ex officio member of the Kennedy Center board, publicly contradicted Leavitt’s claim. She called the process “censorship,” revealing how anyone opposing the decision was “muted.”
Joyce Beatty reveals the renaming wasn’t even on the call agenda
In a post responding directly to Leavitt’s announcement, Beatty set the record straight and emphasized that the renaming was not listed on the agenda:
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. Also, for the record, this was not on the agenda. This was not consensus. This is censorship.
She didn’t stop there. Beatty recorded and uploaded a video from her congressional office in Washington, D.C., explaining exactly what happened on the call. According to her, each time she tried to voice her concern, ask questions, or vote in opposition, she was muted.
Each time I tried to speak, I was muted. Participants were not allowed to voice their concerns who were online, yet it was said at the end it was a unanimous vote.
Beatty emphasized that by law, Congress had a say in the decision since the Center was created through congressional action. However, dissent was simply blocked from the floor, and the outcome was announced as “unanimous.” Her message was not just about decorum or hurt feelings. It was about process, legality, and transparency.
The Kennedy Center renaming process was rigged, according to Beatty
In other words, the issue isn’t whether Trump deserves his name slapped on the building before Kennedy’s. It’s whether a national cultural institution can be rebranded through procedural steamrolling. On top of it, the decision was sold to the public as a collective agreement when, in fact, it wasn’t.
Leavitt’s statement also celebrated the vote as a meeting of great minds honoring Trump and Kennedy as a “truly great team.” But she missed out the fact that these “great minds” were all handpicked by Trump himself in February. And we know the drill, Trump’s loyalists never say a word against him, or they would lose their offices tomorrow. So with his minions sitting around the table, it was the Congress whose opinion should’ve been taken into account. Yet, they were conveniently silenced.
The Kennedy Center is not a private vanity project. It is a publicly chartered institution tied to congressional authority and national cultural heritage. It also holds history and legacy, and renaming it after a sitting president is violently disrespectful. Beatty also underscored her long-standing involvement with the Center and her support for the arts. So her statement isn’t a partisan drive-by. It’s a board member exposing that the process was rigged to produce a headline.
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