In a scene straight out of a dystopian novel, the president of the United States, who campaigned on the promise of being “dictator on day one,” flexed his executive muscle and caused stunned visitors — including schoolchildren, researchers and history buffs who had traveled great distances — to be unceremoniously ushered out of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston on Tuesday.
The sudden dismissal of federal employees at the JFK Library forced the museum to close today.
A wednesday statement from the JFK LIBRARY FOUNDATION
“The sudden dismissal of federal employees at the JFK Library forced the museum to close today,” the JFK Library Foundation said in a statement. “As the Foundation that supports the JFK Library, we are devastated by this news and will continue to support our colleagues and the Library.”
At least five visitor services employees — that’s half the department — were summarily dismissed Tuesday, their careers sacrificed on the altar of President Donald Trump’s ego. JFK Library and Museum Director Alan Price affixed a printout on the door: “Due to executive order, the JFK Library is closed until further notice.”
When the library reopened Wednesday, Price told WBUR radio that the firings left the facility without anyone who’d been trained to handle ticketing and that admission would be free until such training occurs.
However temporary, what happened at the JFK Library wasn’t just a closure; it was a strike on America’s historical memory, ordered by a man painfully aware that he is the anti-Kennedy. Even though the firings were the result of a scattershot approach from Trump, the truth remains that he appears to be haunted by the specter of a predecessor he can never eclipse and has an animus toward anything that bears Kennedy’s name, including the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
While probationary employees were fired across the federal government, the mass firing’s effects on JFK Library are a reminder of what’s at risk in such a thoughtless, cavalier approach to personnel decisions. It’s one of Boston’s most popular educational destinations and a testament to Kennedy’s enduring popularity. (Kennedy consistently ranks high, and higher than Trump, in C-SPAN’s presidential surveys, and Trump appears to believe he’s the best president ever.) Now the library’s core functions are at risk. The terminated employees were crucial for visitor relations, ticket sales and tour management. Their absence threatens to strangle the institution’s ability to serve researchers, process collections and conduct scholarly work by potentially reassigning archivists to front desk duty.
Trump had already orchestrated a major shakeup at the National Archives and Records Administration, which oversees presidential libraries. On Feb. 7, Trump, without providing a reason, fired Colleen Shogan, the first woman to lead the National Archives. On a related note, NARA also manages presidential records; after failing to retrieve them from Trump, NARA appealed to the Department of Justice, which led to the FBI’s investigation and search of Mar-a-Lago in August 2022. Shogan, who began leading the agency in 2023, was not in charge of the National Archives when Mar-a-Lago was searched.
Aside from their being born in privilege, the contrast between Kennedy and Trump is stark. Kennedy, who won the Pulitzer Prize for his book “Profiles in Courage” and was awarded the Purple Heart when he was a naval lieutenant in World War II, stands as a beacon of intellect and service. By many accounts, Trump shows little interest, if any, in reading books or even intelligence briefings, and he dodged the draft for Vietnam.
At the 100-day mark of his presidency, Kennedy’s approval soared at 83%, while Trump’s 100-day mark in 2017 limped along at 41%. This is the context of Trump’s brazen attempt to co-opt the Kennedy legacy. He crowned himself chairman of the Kennedy Center, purged Democrats from the board and installed loyalists, including his chief of staff, Susie Wiles, and her mother. Thus, he has transformed a bipartisan institution into a MAGA echo chamber.
He has moved to dismantle USAID, the international development agency Kennedy established, potentially undoing decades of diplomatic soft power and humanitarian efforts. Trump has also ordered the declassification of all remaining JFK, Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. assassination documents, a move Jack Schlossberg, JFK’s grandson, derided as using his grandfather as a “political prop” and that Kennedy experts like me predict will yield no new information.
Aside from their being born in privilege, the contrast between Kennedy and Trump is stark.
Even Trump’s appointment of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of health and human services serves only to degrade the family’s name. RFK Jr., who has no relevant experience in the field, now wields significant power over the nation’s health policies. The remaining Kennedy family has pushed back fiercely against this Trumpian appropriation of their legacy. Caroline Kennedy even labeled her cousin RFK Jr. a “predator” ahead of his confirmation hearings.
This latest assault on the Kennedy legacy undoubtedly weighed heavily on the mind of Price, the library director, who decided to affix the printout to the locked door as a response to the demand that he fire staff members. This smoke signal, a bold act of defiance, ignited the media attention that thrust that executive order into the spotlight. Price’s strategic move, prioritizing the institution’s visibility, no doubt comes at great professional risk.
Price’s political courage exemplifies the spirit of the JFK Library, a bold defender of democracy that, like its namesake, puts country before party. This stance has made it a particular target of Trump’s ire, dating to the 2017 centennial of Kennedy’s birth, when the library awarded President Barack Obama the Profiles in Courage award. In 2022, the same honor was bestowed upon those who “boldly stood up for their courage to protect and defend democracy,” including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, one of two Republicans on the House Jan.6 committee. Those accolades surely deepened Trump’s resentment.
To me, a historian who began a book on young JFK during the pandemic, his move is a cruel déjà vu of his mismanagement of that crisis.
To me, a historian who began a book on young JFK during the pandemic, the firings that led to JFK Library staff being fired is a cruel déjà vu of his mismanagement of that crisis.
Researchers weren’t even allowed in the building during the pandemic, but my research continued, thanks to the heroic dedication of JFK Library archivists and staff members. These valiant custodians of history performed miracles, ferrying priceless documents to researchers marooned in far-flung environs.
It’s a stark reminder that even hallowed ground is vulnerable to the whims of a leader consumed by envy and a relentless pursuit of self-aggrandizement. This act should serve as a clarion call, reminding us to safeguard not only our institutions but also the legacies they represent, lest they become pawns in a dangerous game of political ego.
“This country cannot afford to be materially rich and spiritually poor,” Kennedy warned. The doors of the JFK Library may have reopened to the public, but Trump’s executive order continues to cast a long shadow over our nation’s soul. Like a reverse Midas, everything he touches turns to dross — leaving us materially, spiritually and intellectually bankrupt.
