Trump Slammed By Whoopi Goldberg, The View Hosts Over 'Dictator-Like' Rebrand Amid Kennedy Tragedy

When Donald Trump announced he was renaming the Kennedy Centre after himself, the hosts of The View didn't hold back. The backlash was swift, fierce, and deeply personal—coming just days after the Kennedy family suffered a devastating loss.

On Monday, 5 January, Whoopi Goldberg opened the discussion by asking her co-hosts what they made of Trump's latest rebrand. What followed was a masterclass in political criticism, with each panellist finding fresh angles to attack what many are calling an astonishingly tone-deaf decision.

The Kennedy Centre Rebrand: Legal, Ethical, and Deeply Wrong

Sunny Hostin, a former federal prosecutor, was the first to land a punch. 'Well, I think it's illegal,' she said flatly, drawing laughter from her colleagues. Hostin pressed her point with legal precision: 'It's illegal. Federal law designated the Kennedy Centre as a national memorial and you can't change the name of a national memorial without Congress.'

The legal argument exposed a fundamental problem with Trump's move. Not only does it violate federal law, but it also demonstrates a brazen disregard for the democratic process—something that didn't escape Goldberg's notice. 'You're not supposed to,' Goldberg acknowledged with a wry smile. 'I'm gonna put my name up on there. John F. Kennedy memorial... and Whoopi, too!' Her joke underscored the absurdity: if Trump can just add his name to national monuments, what stops anyone else from doing the same?

Hostin went further, suggesting the root of the problem lay with the Supreme Court. 'I'm starting to blame the Supreme Court, because the Supreme Court said he could do whatever he wants to do and he took them seriously,' she said pointedly. Her comment hints at a more profound constitutional concern—that Trump's actions are symptomatic of a larger erosion of democratic norms.

Sara Haines chimed in with another angle: the utter impermanence of Trump's rebrand. 'A name that's not congressionally approved can just be knocked off with the next administration,' she noted with a chuckle. When asked if that would look petty, Haines had a sharp retort ready: 'No, it looks petty to put your name in front of Kennedy! At least when Whoopi did, she put it at the very end of the sentence. Have some humility!'

The Stunning Timing: A Rebrand During a Family's Grief

But the real anger came from Alyssa Farah Griffin, who highlighted what many saw as the most damning aspect of Trump's decision. Just days earlier, Tatiana Schlossberg, granddaughter of President John F. Kennedy, had died from cancer at just 35 years old. Trump's rebrand, Farah Griffin said, was nothing short of cruel.

'The tone deafness... It's just wrong,' she said. 'If there was ever a time to honour the Kennedy family and stay silent, that would have been it.' Her words captured something essential: Trump's actions revealed not just political overreach, but a profound lack of empathy.

'It's Very Dictator-Like': Ana Navarro's Scathing Analysis

Ana Navarro brought the conversation home with perhaps the most cutting observation of all. 'He's a jerk 365 days a year,' she declared bluntly. Then came her headline moment: 'It's very dictator-like to stamp your name on everything.'

Navarro went on to suggest a darker motive beneath Trump's compulsion to rebrand. 'I think he's particularly obsessed with the Kennedys and the Obamas. I think he so badly wants their level of legacy.' Her diagnosis was damning: Trump's behaviour reveals a man consumed by envy, desperate for the historical legitimacy he believes he lacks.

The Fundamental Question of Ownership and Accountability

Goldberg brought the conversation full circle with a question that cut to the heart of the matter. 'I don't remember anyone I know selling this country to him,' she said pointedly. 'This is not your country. You don't own it. You can't just put your name on anything you want to put your name on—you didn't pay for it.'

Then came the crucial question that nobody has adequately answered: 'Who's paying for all of this? You keep saying billionaires are doing it, but where's the cheques? If they're paying for all of this, we should be getting money back.' Goldberg's challenge exposed another uncomfortable truth: taxpayers funded the Kennedy Centre, and no president should be able to rebrand a public institution in pursuit of personal glory unilaterally.

The View hosts' critique was damning because it wasn't merely partisan—it was constitutional, legal, and deeply human. They articulated what many Americans felt in the wake of Tatiana Schlossberg's death: a sense that some things are sacred, and that basic decency demands restraint at moments of national grief.