Trump Takes Another Swipe at the Kennedy Family After Maria Shriver’s Warning with One Flashy Move Critics Are Calling ‘Hideous’
When Donald Trump decided to stamp his name onto the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, he barely got so much as a standing ovation.
The Washington, D.C., venue was created as a living tribute to former president John F. Kennedy, but Trump treated it more like a rebrand opportunity. Board members were shown the door, allies were ushered in, and suddenly the marquee read more like a co-headlining act: The Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.
The family was furious, blasting Trump online for wanting to put his awful name on everything like a child taking claim over something. But his latest move may just be the final blow.
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When it comes to legacies, Trump doesn’t just want a seat at the table. He wants top billing.
After renovating much of the White House, including adding a $400 million ballroom and turning the Oval Office into a gaudy, golden disgrace, he’s now pulled another flashy move.
Thanks to him, the exterior colors of Air Force One and the presidential VIP fleet, which are painted in colors from Kennedy’s time in the White House, will soon be changed.
The current colors of blue and yellow were chosen by Kennedy’s wife, Jacqueline Kennedy, when she was the first lady, and they have remained throughout every presidency until Trump’s second term.
Air Force Two has already undergone a makeover, and a photograph of the updated plane was shared online after being serviced at Majors Airport in Greenville, Texas.
Air Force One is getting a new paint scheme? Which one you like better? New paint job on the right. pic.twitter.com/p888vtsFnv
— Amazing Pop Culture Podcast (@AmazingPopPod) February 17, 2026
Trump’s new color scheme will also be added to government planes used by the Department of Homeland Security. Both Melania Trump and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem have traveled on the newly liveried Trump planes.
But the public and the Kennedys are growing tired of the never-ending changes to historical monuments and lack of respect for those who held the White House before him.
“Of course he’s adding gold to everything – he has to make his surroundings as tacky as Mar-a-lago and trump tower. He has no taste!” said one person. Meanwhile, another predicted, “Oh God. The whole plane is going to be painted gold.”
Critics of Trump couldn’t resist taking shots at the new presidential aircraft paint job, with one commenter quipping that the redesign looks more like a flying billboard, writing, “Great, a giant f—–g orange plane.”
A fourth noted, “That’s so funny! He thinks he is going to be there forever? Trump does all the best he can to erase the nation’s history because he’s stupid. He knows nothing about history. What’s next? Putting his name on the Air Force One?”
According to the New York Post, the former reality TV star chose red, gold, and blue, the same colors on his private plane, dubbed “Trump Force One.” Trump is also converting the fleet of planes that Vice President JD Vance and other top White House officials use, including the Boeing Air Force Two jet.
Some users took aim at what they see as Trump’s taste for pricey makeovers, calling him runken sailor spending Trump,” one wrote, suggesting the redesign felt more indulgent than necessary. “Can’t wait til he’s gone,” another commenter exclaimed.
Another speculated that the president was seeking revenge for the Kennedy family snubbing him when they spoke out against Robert F. Kennedy Jr. endorsing Trump in the 2024 election.
“Trump will never get over the Kennedy family’s rejection of him,” they wrote. Another noted Trump’s notoriously bad taste. “So, hideously ugly instead of classic elegance.”
Oprah Winfrey’s other bestie and JFK’s niece, Maria Shriver, had words for Trump after his Kennedy Center rebrand, and she spoke on his plans to renovate the building as artists canceled their performances following his takeover. Trump announced the Kennedy Center would be closed for two years during the renovations, calling the memorial, “a tired, broken, and dilapidated Center.”
Shriver mocked Trump’s post announcing the renovations, and she roasted him for performers canceling their appearances with a hilarious post on X.
“Translation,” she wrote. “It has been brought to my attention that due to the name change (but nobody’s telling me it’s due to the name change), but it’s been brought to my attention that entertainers are canceling left and right, and I have determined that since the name change, no one wants to perform there any longer. I’ve determined that due to this change in schedule, it’s best for me to close this center down and rebuild a new center that will bear my name, which will surely get everybody to stop talking about the fact that everybody’s canceling… right?”
Translation: It has been brought to my attention that due to the name change (but nobody’s telling me it’s due to the name change), but it’s been brought to my attention that entertainers are canceling left and right, and I have determined that since the name change no one wants… https://t.co/BDsjQeOAC9
— Maria Shriver (@mariashriver) February 2, 2026
During his first term, the president demanded that the Air Force One planes then under construction be painted in his signature colors, but former President Joe Biden canceled Trump’s order after he won the presidency.
