Melania Trump documentary at the Kennedy Center

Photo Credit: The White House / CC by 3.0

The president and first lady will attend the premiere of Melania’s documentary at the Kennedy Center on January 29, weeks after the Trump-appointed board added his name to the building.

President Donald Trump and Melania Trump are set to appear at the premiere of the first lady’s documentary at the Kennedy Center, just weeks after the Trump-appointed board added his name to the building. Melania premieres at the recently renamed venue on January 29, before it hits theaters the following day.

Melania follows the first lady in the 20 days leading up to her husband’s second inauguration last year. Directed by Brett Ratner, the film includes previously unseen moments from the family’s move back into the White House as well as Trump’s inauguration.

According to Fox News, Amazon MGM licensed the documentary as part of a $40 million deal, as Amazon founder Jeff Bezos “took a personal interest” in the project. That move reportedly helped him secure his relationship with the Trumps.

Trump seized control of the Kennedy Center shortly after assuming office, appointing a board of loyalists who then voted him as chairman. Since then, he has referred to the building as the Trump-Kennedy Center. On December 18, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that the board had voted to rename the Kennedy Center after Trump.

Notably, U.S. Representative Joyce Beatty, a Democrat and former board member, said she was not allowed to vote on the change during the meeting. She wrote on social media: “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.”

“Beyond using the Kennedy Center to reward his friends and political allies, President Trump is now attempting to affix his name to yet another public institution without legal authority,” Beatty told Reuters in a joint statement with other former board members, including Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House of Representatives Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries. “Federal law established the Center as a memorial to President Kennedy and prohibits changing its name without Congressional action.”

Several members of the Kennedy family have spoken out against the board’s decision, including JFK’s niece, Maria Shriver. “It is beyond wild that he would think adding his name in front of President Kennedy’s name is acceptable. It is not.”

“The Kennedy Center was named after my uncle, President John F. Kennedy,” she wrote on social media. “He brought the arts into the White House, and he and my Aunt Jackie amplified the arts, celebrated the arts, stood up for the arts and artists. It is beyond comprehension that this sitting president has sought to rename this great memorial dedicated to President Kennedy.”

Congress dedicated the Kennedy Center as a memorial to President John F. Kennedy a year after his assassination in 1963. A devoted supporter of the arts, the former president was an advocate for “our contribution to the human spirit.” The iconic venue opened its doors in 1971.