Maria Shriver says of Trump's Kennedy Center post on X: 'What a sad state of affairs. What a tragedy.'
Journalist and author, and niece of President John F. Kennedy, in a post on her personal X account
“This statement from Trump blows my mind. That a sitting president would not let any renovations to a public building go on unless he gets to first put his name in the said building… What a sad state of affairs. What a tragedy. Actually, how small minded, how narcissistic. Actually great men, devoted to public service and the public good do not act like this.”
Source and context
Original post
About this source
Read through api.fxtwitter.com (full long-form text; author mariashriver, id 19362341; created Tue Sep 15 22:56:52 +0000 2026, which is 6:56 PM EDT) and cross-checked for author and timestamp against cdn.syndication.twimg.com, which truncates the text at 278 characters. Standalone post, not a reply. The attached image was downloaded and viewed: it is a screenshot of Trump's 9/15 Truth Social post, so 'This statement from Trump' is that post.
Reporting
About this source
ABC News quotes the last two sentences of the post and reports that Kerry Kennedy's CNN comments followed Shriver's statement. ABC's own wording describes Trump's position as a threat; DI does not adopt that framing. Used as a second source for the post and its timing.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Original text
About this source
Read in full on the trumpstruth.org archive, which records the original post ID, URL (truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/117276573235915643) and time; the original is behind a Cloudflare challenge and was not opened. The same text is quoted and screenshotted in Beatty's notice at ECF 78. The word recognition does not appear in the post.
Before the quotation
On September 15, 2026, a federal judge barred the Kennedy Center board from adding a tribute to Trump on the building or grounds, and the board then voted to close the center for renovations. At 2:54 PM ET Trump posted on Truth Social that the closing would take place immediately and that the renovation and reconstruction could not begin until the D.C. Circuit rules on the board's approved name, and would not take place if that ruling is negative and not overturned. Shriver posted at 6:56 PM ET with a screenshot of that post attached.
After the quotation
Later that evening Kerry Kennedy, another niece of President Kennedy, criticized the closure in a CNN interview that ABC News described as following Shriver's statement. On September 16, fencing was installed around the main building's entrance and lawyers for Rep. Joyce Beatty asked a federal judge for an emergency hearing on the closure.
How this statement is classified
Case context: Donald Trump's statements linking the Kennedy Center's renovation to recognition for his administration
The label describes this statement’s response within the context above.
Why this label?
The case's fixed reference point is President Trump's stated position that the Kennedy Center's closure and renovation depend on recognition for his administration, as expressed in his 2026-09-15 Truth Social post. Shriver's post attaches a screenshot of that post, describes it as a president who 'would not let any renovations to a public building go on unless he gets to first put his name in the said building', and calls that 'a sad state of affairs' and 'a tragedy', a direct rejection of the linkage. The closest competing label is minimizes, because she also says Trump's time should be spent on other problems. That loses because she treats the position as serious and objectionable ('a tragedy', 'small minded', 'narcissistic') rather than as unimportant.
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Donald Trump's statements linking the Kennedy Center's renovation to recognition for his administration
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More from this case
Read the full case“I keep wondering how insecure, how narcissistic, how egomaniacal you have to be to say you'll demolish a building if they don't put your name on it.”Read statement
“Donald Trump has spent countless hours on ridiculous vanity projects instead of trying to tackle the sky-high cost of living or ending his failed war in Iran, and now he's threatening to tear down the Kennedy Center just because he can't slap his name on it. It's sad, shallow, and a disgrace to the institution which by law honors our 35th president. We will continue fighting this obsession and defend this national cultural center in Congress and the courts”Read statement
“I don't mind doing the job, but if I do the job, I think the Trump administration, including Bobby, but the Trump administration should be recognized. Why should I raise and put up and do all of this work?”Read statement