President Donald Trump has provoked fresh outrage by using his social media platform to attack the Kennedy family on the day they announced the death of John F. Kennedy's granddaughter, Tatiana Schlossberg.
A Family in Mourning
The JFK Library Foundation confirmed the tragic news on Tuesday, stating that the 35-year-old environmental journalist had passed away after a battle with a rare form of acute myeloid leukemia. In a brief statement, the foundation said, “Our beautiful Tatiana passed away this morning. She will always be in our hearts.”
Schlossberg, who wrote for publications including The New York Times and The New Yorker, is survived by her husband, their two young children, her parents Caroline Kennedy and Edwin Schlossberg, and her siblings.
Trump's Social Media Response
Rather than offering condolences, President Trump used his Truth Social account to amplify criticism of the famous political dynasty. He shared three posts containing screenshots that accused the Kennedy family of neglecting the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
One reposted comment from Breitbart Editor-in-Chief Raheem Kassam read, “The Kennedy Family have LONG neglected the Kennedy Center, btw. They don’t raise money for it. They never show up.” The performing arts venue was taken over by the Trump administration this year and rebranded the “Trump Kennedy Center.”
Trump’s posts also included congratulatory messages from allies like Senator Lindsey Graham and Ambassador Richard Grenell regarding the venue's takeover, which has been marked by falling ticket sales and artist boycotts.
Family Tensions and Broader Backlash
The social media attack highlighted existing divisions within the family itself. Kassam’s comment referenced Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Schlossberg’s uncle, as the only Kennedy recently seen at the centre. In a poignant essay published last month about her illness, Schlossberg had been critical of her uncle's confirmation to a health role, writing of her dismay from her hospital bed.
The president's actions were swiftly condemned. The anti-Trump media group MeidasTouch posted on X, calling it a “stunning display of cruelty and utter lack of basic human decency.” CNN anchor Jake Tapper dismissed the posts as “social media garbage.”
This incident recalls other controversial statements by Trump, including his response to the murder of director Rob Reiner earlier in December, which he linked to what he called “TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME.” It also echoes his promotion of a conspiracy theory in 2016 linking a rival's father to the assassination of JFK.
The episode has reignited debates about political decorum and the appropriate use of a public platform during moments of private grief for a family that remains iconic in American politics.
