Kennedy Center board member was forcefully muted for name change vote: 'Not unanimous!' [View all]

Source: Raw Story

December 18, 2025 2:38PM ET


Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH), a member of the Kennedy Center board, insisted that the vote to rename the venue after President Donald Trump was "not unanimous" despite claims to the contrary.

In a statement on Thursday, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, announced that the board "just voted unanimously to rename the Kennedy Center to the Trump-Kennedy Center, because of the unbelievable work President Trump has done over the last year in saving the building."

Beatty responded with a video walloping Leavitt's claim. "I'm sitting here in my congressional office in Washington, D.C., just ending a call with the Kennedy Center, where I serve as an ex officio member," she said. "I am bringing this to you live today because what you may hear is that there was a unanimous vote to rename the Kennedy Center, the Trump Center."

"I was on that call and as I tried to push my button to voice my concern, to ask questions, and certainly not to vote in support of this," she continued. "I was muted. Each time I tried to speak."

Read more: https://www.rawstory.com/joyce-beatty-kennedy-center/