What To Know
- CNN commentator Scott Jennings defended President Trump’s plan to rename the Kennedy Center after himself, expressing confusion over the intense outrage from critics.
- The proposed name change, which requires Congressional approval, has sparked backlash from Kennedy family members and public figures.
- Jennings argued that Trump, as a two-term president, will inevitably have things named after him.
Scott Jennings is baffled by how anyone could be upset about President Donald Trump putting his name on the Kennedy Center, saying the constant outrage must be “exhausting.”
CNN’s conservative commentator made the statement on Friday’s (December 19) edition of CNN NewsNight With Abby Phillip while the panel was discussing Trump’s plan to rename the iconic performing arts theater. Jennings took particular issue with author and criminal defense attorney Stacy Schneider, who claimed the President was “desecrating” the building.
“We don’t need to see Donald Trump’s name on there,” Schneider said, per Mediaite, referring to how the board of the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts unanimously voted to rename the building the Trump-Kennedy Center last week.
Jennings asked her, “What are we allowed to put [Trump’s name] on?”
“He picks a memorial to a slain assassinated president… it’s gross. It’s absolutely gross… it’s pretty disgusting,” Schneider continued. “It’s not necessary, they’re drilling holes into the walls, the pristine white walls of the Kennedy Center…”
A bemused Jennings interrupted, saying, “How do you muster the outrage every day? It would exhaust me to be as outraged [as you].”
The decision to rename the building, which is likely to face legal hurdles as it requires Congress approval, caused widespread reaction last week, including from members of the Kennedy family.
“Some things leave you speechless, and enraged, and in a state of disbelief,” JFK’s niece Maria Shriver wrote on X.
Jennings defended Trump’s decision, saying, “He loves the arts [and] he loves the Kennedy Center.” He also said it’s rich “being lectured by the Kennedys about stooping low,” adding, “We don’t have to go down all the rabbit holes, but come on.”
He also said he’s sure Trump will be sued for the attempted name change, stating, “He’s sued about everything else, and we’ll see what a court has to say about it.”
“But I hate to break the news to everybody, the man’s a two-term President,” the MAGA pundit added. “They’re gonna name some stuff after him.”
When CNN anchor Sarah Sidner asked whether Jennings would have been okay with Joe Biden or Barack Obama putting their names on the Lincoln Memorial, he said it was a “silly example” because the Lincoln Memorial is a statue of Abraham Lincoln, while the Kennedy Center is a building with a theater.
Critics blasted Trump’s renaming last week, including The Late Show‘s Stephen Colbert, who quipped, “[Trump] can’t have his name on a memorial! He’s alive… or so his doctors claim.”
This story originally appeared on TV Insider
