Robert F. Kennedy Jr. addressed the renaming of his uncle’s Kennedy Center, which now includes President Donald Trump’s name. During a conference, reporters inquired about why other family members were upset by the change. RFK Jr. didn’t go into detail, saying that focusing on child health services is more important to him than the name of a building. He also stated he had no involvement in the renaming and declined to comment further on the matter.
RFK Jr. comments on Kennedy Center being renamed
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services, was recently asked by a CBS correspondent why his family members seem to be disappointed by the Kennedy Center’s name change. In December 2025, it was reported that the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees voted “unanimously” to rename the historic building as the Trump-Kennedy Center.
Refusing to answer the question, he said, “Of course, I understand it, but I have bigger fish to fry.” He further revealed that a child’s good healthcare concerns him more than the name of a building. “If we lose any children in this country to obesity, heart disease — 77 percent of our kids can’t qualify for the military. Saving one life is more important to me than the name on a building,” he added.
He was further asked whether he was involved in the renaming or whether he voted against it. To this, RFK Jr. simply said no. The reporters continued to press him to give his stance on the moniker, but he refused, as he believed he had better things to focus on. Members of the Kennedy family have voiced their opinions against renaming the historic building, including Kennedy’s grandson, Jack Schlossberg, and niece Maria Shriver.
The name modification has since drawn massive backlash, with several performers canceling their performances at the center in protest of the decision.
