MS NOW host Lawrence O'Donnell asserted on Monday that President Donald Trump's intense focus on the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is driven by "uncontrollable jealousy" of the late president. O'Donnell argued that Trump's actions, including his administration's threat to demolish the center unless his name was restored to its exterior, reveal a deep sense of inadequacy.
"That president was John Fitzgerald Kennedy, a Harvard graduate who had won the Pulitzer Prize as an author before winning the presidency," O'Donnell said, referencing Kennedy's narrow victory margin and the fervent support he garnered.
O'Donnell contended that the public's deep affection for JFK, even in death, fuels Trump's resentment. He pointed to the renaming of public schools, New York's largest airport, and numerous streets across the country in Kennedy's honor as evidence of his lasting legacy. "All of those commemorations are why Donald Trump hates John F. Kennedy, because John F. Kennedy in the reflection of history has been commemorated with love — and that now fills Donald Trump with uncontrollable jealousy," O'Donnell stated.
The "Last Word" host also linked Trump's fixation to his own legacy concerns, citing recent projects like the construction of a new White House ballroom, renovations at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, and plans for a triumphal arch. Trump also released his own commemorative coins.
Trump's administration had argued in a court filing that the Kennedy Center was in such disrepair that it "cannot survive, either structurally or financially" without the president's intervention and recognition. However, O'Donnell suggested the true motivation is personal.