This past week, President Donald Trump shuttered the Kennedy Center because he’s mad that his attempts to put his name on it keep getting shot down.
But the whole episode is shining a spotlight on the right’s considerable deficit when it comes to iconic figures—those who left a positive mark on history that garnered significant bipartisan support.
The Kennedy Center is a tribute to President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963—a moment that transformed him into an almost mythical figure for many and a torch carrier for baby boomers.
Kennedy was a Democrat, and while his politics don’t directly map to today’s politics, he is viewed particularly fondly by the left.
More recently, Barack Obama wasn’t just the first Black president but also the first Black person to ever become a major party’s nominee. Obama continues to be a highly celebrated figure, especially when compared to his successor, Trump.
While she wasn’t elected president, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was a widely admired figure before she became the first woman to be nominated for the presidency by a major party. She was seen as a feminist icon during her time as first lady, senator of New York, and secretary of state.
And even though he only served one term as president, Jimmy Carter transformed the post-presidency into one of service through his work with charities like Habitat for Humanity, earning him praise from both sides of the aisle after passing away in 2024.
But perhaps there’s no political figure in modern U.S. history who’s achieved the level of icon status as President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was elected an unprecedented and unmatched four times and dealt with massive, generation-defying issues like the Great Depression and World War II.
Even outside of politics, the United States has seen the rise of iconic figures like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who advocated for progressive ideals like racial justice, workers’ rights, and peace.
More recently, feminist activist and writer Gloria Steinem, who passed away on Sept. 2, is remembered for her work that changed how women are seen and treated in U.S. society.
But while the left is brimming with these sorts of icons, there are few figures on the right who come even close to this sort of near-universal acclaim and influence.
Perhaps the closest such person is President Ronald Reagan, who has benefitted from the whitewashing of his many failures and shortcomings, including his crass racism.
And even then, remembrances of Reagan as “the Gipper” are often tempered in the public consciousness with reminders of his dismissive attitude toward the HIV/AIDS crisis, during which his administration dragged its feet in response to an epidemic that was ravaging the LGBTQ+ community.
That legacy isn’t exactly on the level of Kennedy, King, or Roosevelt.
There’s a vast wasteland with modern Republican presidents. Reagan’s successor, George H.W. Bush, isn’t even considered a hero by conservatives, instead being remembered as a one-term president—without a Carter-style renaissance.
And things get even worse with his son, George W. Bush, who is eternally associated with the Great Recession and the Iraq War, despite the grace he was extended in the immediate aftermath of 9/11.
But before them all there was Richard Nixon: the only president in U.S. history to go from landslide victory to shameful resignation.
The history is not yet written, but it seems extremely unlikely that—after COVID-19, immigration raids, and economic turmoil—Trump will ever be spoken about in the same breath as someone like Kennedy.
By trying to slap his name beside Kennedy’s, Trump is attempting to steal the slain president’s valor. But Trump isn’t the avatar of his generation, and these days, he can barely muster support within his own party.
The right lacks icons, plain and simple. No matter how hard Republicans try, they will never come close to what Democrats have.
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