CNN anchor Jake Tapper has criticized former President Donald Trump for his remarks about the Kennedy family, made shortly after the tragic death of JFK’s granddaughter.

“The Kennedy family shared the heartbreaking news that JFK’s granddaughter, Tatiana Schlossberg, passed away from cancer,” Tapper wrote on platform X, Tuesday afternoon. “Just a few hours later, President Trump was seen reposting derogatory social media content targeting the Kennedys.”

Tatiana Schlossberg, aged 35, was the daughter of Caroline Kennedy, JFK’s only surviving child. She succumbed to acute myeloid leukemia, a rapidly progressing cancer affecting the blood and bone marrow, merely a month after her diagnosis became public.

The JFK Library Foundation conveyed the sorrowful announcement on behalf of the Kennedy family. The statement also included heartfelt messages from Tatiana’s husband, Dr. George Moran, and their two young children, Edwin and Josephine.

The news was shared by the JFK Library Foundation, on behalf of the family, including Tatiana’s husband, Dr. George Moran, and their young children, Edwin and Josephine.

Trump did not name Tatiana directly in his social media onslaught, which was directed at the family over its criticism of his renaming the historic Kennedy Center in Washington DC. 

The Trump administration rebranded the venue as the Trump-Kennedy Center, sparking fury. The arts and culture site, which opened in 1971, was dedicated as a memorial to JFK following his assassination in Dallas, Texas, in 1963.

Trump shared screenshots on his Truth Social from MAGA supporters attacking the famous political clan, with claims that they had allowed the Kennedy Center to fall into disrepute. 

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive for a New Year’s Eve event at his Mar-a-Lago home on December 31, 2025 in Palm Beach, Florida

Tatiana Schlossberg attends Intelligencer Live: Our Warmer Future presented by New York Magazine and Brookfield Place on September 05, 2019 in New York City

‘The Kennedy Family have LONG neglected the Kennedy Center, btw,’ asserted one. ‘They don’t raise money for it. They never show up. And the only Kennedy who has been there recently is a member of Trump’s cabinet.’

‘The Trumps have always been supporters of the arts. The Kennedys are supporters of the Kennedys,’ claimed another.

Tapper was not alone in criticizing the timing of Trump’s posts.

‘Just when you think he can’t get any lower. He is truly an evil man,’ said one X user.

Another wrote: ‘The person occupying the White House is a mean, nasty, evil, rotten, disrespectful, thoughtless turd.’

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced on December 18 that the Kennedy Center’s Board of Directors voted unanimously to rebrand the iconic venue the Trump-Kennedy Center.

It sparked a furious response from the Kennedy clan as well as artists who boycotted performances.

Ohio Rep. Joyce Beatty, who serves as an ex-officio member of the Kennedy Center board, rejected the White House claim. 

Jake Tapper attends the Jake Tapper And Alex Thompson In Conversation With David Remnick: Original Sin – President Biden’s 2024 Campaign at 92NY on May 27 in New York City

‘For the record. This was not unanimous. I was muted on the call and not allowed to speak or voice my opposition to this move,’ Beatty, 75, posted on X. ‘Also for the record, this was not on the agenda. This was not consensus. This is censorship.’

Tatiana’s brother Jack Schlossberg, Caroline Kennedy’s son and a progressive social media star running for Congress in New York, echoed her claim. 

Schlossberg stated on X that ‘microphones were muted’ during the conference call where the board voted, and the outcome was ‘NOT unanimous.’

Other members of the Kennedy family expressed their outrage over the renaming. 

JFK’s niece Maria Shriver fumed: ‘Some things leave you speechless, and enraged, and in a state of disbelief. At times such as that, it’s better to be quiet.’

Joe Kennedy III, JFK’s grandnephew and an ex-Massachusetts Congressman, wrote on X that ‘The Kennedy Center is a living memorial to a fallen president and named for President Kennedy by federal law.’

He also noted that ‘it can no sooner be renamed than can someone rename the Lincoln Memorial, no matter what anyone says.’