Donald Trump has taken aim at the Kennedy family just days after announcing he is shuttering the iconic Kennedy Centre.
On Thursday, Trump, 79, was joined by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the president announced TrumpRx, a website he claims will offer discount prescription drugs. Also at the announcement were Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Mehmet Oz and Chief Design Officer of the National Design Studio Joe Gebbia.
During his remarks, where he took no questions from the media, Trump praised vaccine skeptic RFK Jr. for his role in the scheme. Trump then sneaked in criticism of the rest of the Kennedy family.
U.S. President Donald Trump, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Mehmet Oz and Chief Design Officer of the National Design Studio Joe Gebbia. Nathan Howard/Getty Images
“Bobby is back here,” Trump said. “He’s so instrumental, he’s doing such a fantastic job.
“Who would’ve thought a Kennedy—we love a Kennedy—[in] the Republican Party. But there’s been no better advocate for what we’re doing than Bobby Kennedy Jr.”
The praise comes after Trump announced on his Truth Social account on Sunday that he would close the D.C. arts venue for two years to focus on “Construction, Revitalization, and Complete Rebuilding.”
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks in the Oval Office at the White House on January 29, 2026 in Washington, DC. Samuel Corum/Getty Images
Trump said the “tired, broken, and dilapidated” Center will close July 4 and turn it into a “new and beautiful Landmark.”
He promised a grand reopening “that will rival and surpass anything that has taken place with respect to such a Facility before.”
The Kennedy family was quick to slam Trump’s decision, which followed a slew of artists cancelling shows at the venue after a MAGA takeover.
Protesters gather in front of the The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts after President Donald Trump’s name was added to the facade on Dec.20, 2025 in Washington, DC. The Washington Post/The Washington Post via Getty Im
Last week, renowned composer Philip Glass pulled the world premiere of his highly-awaited Symphony No. 15: “Lincoln,” citing “current leadership” at the venue. The center’s new programming head also resigned after less than a week on the job.
The venue hosted the premiere of the vanity documentary Melania last month, attended by a string of Trump acolytes.
John F. Kennedy’s outspoken niece and grandson both laid into the president over the move to close the Kennedy Center.
JFK’s only grandson, Jack Schlossberg, 33, claimed that the president was attempting to dominate the iconic arts venue, noting Trump had already added his own name to the building.
Jack Schlossberg, grandson of former President John. F Kennedy who is currently running for Congress, speaks to members of the New York State Nurses Association before joining the picket line in support of nurses on strike outside Mount Sinai West on January 12, 2026 in New York City. Edna Leshowitz/Getty Images
“Trump can take the Kennedy Center for himself. He can change the name, shut the doors, and demolish the building. He can try to kill JFK,” Schlossberg wrote on his X account.
“But JFK is kept alive by us now rising up to remove Donald Trump, bring him to justice, and restore the freedoms generations fought for.”
The outspoken Schlossberg has also directly called out RFK Jr., who is his first cousin once removed. Last week, he blamed the 72-year-old for the “deadly outbreak” of measles that has the United States poised to lose its status as having officially eliminated the disease.
“MAHA MEASLES…BOBBY GONE WILD,” Schlossberg posted on X. He added, “Thanks @RobertFKennedyJr for this deadly outbreak.”
Maria Shriver, meanwhile, attempted to translate Trump’s Truth Social word salad in her own X post on Monday.
“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,” she wrote, channelling Trump.
Maria Shriver praised her cousin Caroline Kennedy for slamming Robert F. Kennedy Jr. NBC/Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images
“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?”
Joe Kennedy III, who is the son of former U.S. Representative Joseph P. Kennedy II and grandson of Robert F. Kennedy, also had his say on Trump’s plans, saying it was a “trespass on the People’s will.”
“For those beliefs and for his sacrifice, Congress voted to make The Kennedy Center a living memorial to him, as a place built by the people for the people to celebrate what connects us,” he posted on X.
“While this trespass on the People’s will is painful, President Kennedy would remind us that it is not buildings that define the greatness of a nation. It is the actions of its people and its leaders.”
Joe Kennedy III. Jeff Malet
The Democrat, who previously represented Massachusetts’s 4th Congressional District, warned people to “not be distracted” from what the Trump administration “is actually trying to erase: our connection, our community, and our commitment to the rights of all.”
“But JFK is kept alive by us now rising up to remove Donald Trump, bring him to justice, and restore the freedoms generations fought for.”
In December, Trump shared poorly-timed posts slamming the Kennedy family just hours after they were mourning the death of Tatiana Schlossberg, the daughter of Caroline Kennedy and granddaughter of JFK. The 35-year-old environmental journalist and author succumbed to cancer.
Donald Trump posts anti-Kennedy sentiment on Truth Social. Truth Social
RFK Jr.’s extreme views on vaccines have led to a falling out with his family, with Caroline Kennedy calling her cousin’s views “dangerous”.
The health and human services secretary’s actress wife, Cheryl Hines, told CBS Mornings last October that her husband had been the victim of “attacks” by his famous family.
Cheryl Hines and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. attend the opening night of “Les Misérables” at The Kennedy Center on June 11, 2025 in Washington, DC. Shannon Finney/Getty Images
“I always thought the Kennedy family, one of their virtues was that family came first, and I admired that,” Hines said.
“So when some of his family decided to—there’s no other way to say it—attack him publicly, it was disappointing.”