Schlossberg, a former climate and energy reporter for The New York Times, died after a battle with acute myeloid leukemia. She was diagnosed after giving birth to her daughter in 2024. News of her death was shared by the Kennedy family earlier that day.
Despite the family’s public mourning, Trump took to Truth Social to repost attacks aimed at the Kennedys. One message claimed, “The Trumps have always been supporters of the arts. The Kennedys are supporters of the Kennedys.” Another repost suggested that the family rarely shows up or raises money for the arts, adding that the only Kennedy recently involved was now part of Trump’s cabinet.
The posts were not directly about Schlossberg’s death. Instead, they were tied to controversy surrounding Trump’s ongoing shake-up of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. In mid-December, Trump announced he was renaming the iconic venue “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts,” a move that sparked outrage among members of the Kennedy family and the arts community. Since then, several performers have canceled upcoming shows in protest.
Even so, many critics said the timing of Trump’s posts felt cruel and unnecessary. Social media quickly filled with accusations that the president showed a lack of basic empathy while a prominent American family was grieving.
CNN anchor Jake Tapper publicly called out Trump’s behavior, sharing screenshots of the posts and writing that the Kennedy family had announced Schlossberg’s death earlier in the day. He described Trump’s reposts as “social media garbage” and questioned why the president chose that moment to attack.
This is not the first time Trump has drawn criticism this month for comments aimed at grieving families. Earlier in December, he was widely condemned for attacking filmmaker Rob Reiner shortly after Reiner’s death. Trump claimed the director died “due to the anger he caused others” because of his outspoken opposition to Trump, later calling him a “deranged person” who was “very bad for our country.”
The remarks sparked outrage, including from podcast host Joe Rogan, who criticized Trump’s lack of compassion. Rogan said there was “no justification” for such comments in a compassionate society and described the behavior as deeply disappointing.
As reactions continue to pour in, critics say the pattern raises serious questions about tone, empathy, and leadership — especially when public figures and their families are mourning profound personal losses.
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