Robert F. Kennedy Jr. doesn't appear to be too concerned about Donald Trump changing the name of the Kennedy Center.
Last month, the U.S. president's appointed board at the Washington, D.C. performing arts venue voted to rename itself the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, as detailed by spokeswoman Roma Daravi in a statement (via CNN).
Asked about the decision by CBS News, Kennedy Jr., who is the Health and Human Services Secretary, said that while several members of his own family were upset by the renaming, the issue is not among his top priorities.
"Of course, I understand it, but I have bigger fish to fry," Kennedy said. "If we lose any children in this country to obesity, heart disease — 77 percent of our kids can't qualify for the military. Saving one life is more important to me than the name on a building."
While the decision to rename the building isn't high up on RFK's list of priorities, it did upset longtime center performer, jazz musician Chuck Redd, who decided to cancel their annual Christmas Eve show because of the renaming.
Redd, who has been organizing Jazz Jams engagements at the center since 2006, said: "When I saw the name change on the Kennedy Center website and then hours later on the building, I chose to cancel our concert."
However, according to Rolling Stone, Redd's decision to pull out has left center president Richard Grenell seeking $1 million in damages for what he's calling a "political stunt."
"Your decision to withdraw at the last moment — explicitly in response to the Center’s recent renaming, which honors President Trump’s extraordinary efforts to save this national treasure — is classic intolerance and very costly to a non-profit Arts institution," Grenell wrote in a letter, per Associated Press.
The president added that the move was "sad bullying tactics employed by certain elements on the left" and accused them of trying to "intimidate artists into boycotting performances at our national cultural center."
