The Trump administration has ordered eight Smithsonian museums to make its exhibits more “unifying” before the nation celebrates its 250th birthday in Washington next year
The White House continued its cultural crackdown on the Smithsonian this week, pressuring the institution to review its exhibits and operations and align them with President Donald Trump‘s view of American history.
On Tuesday, Aug. 12, The Wall Street Journal reported on a letter that was sent by three top White House officials to Smithsonian secretary Lonnie Bunch. According to the outlet, the letter followed up on the directive laid out in Trump’s March 27 executive order, titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” which targeted the Smithsonian museums by name.
The executive order read, in part, “Once widely respected as a symbol of American excellence and a global icon of cultural achievement, the Smithsonian Institution has, in recent years, come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology. This shift has promoted narratives that portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive.”
The new White House letter offers specifics on how the Smithsonian can achieve “alignment” with the president’s vision.
Following a thorough review of exhibitions, internal communications, visitor surveys, featured artists, outside partners and more, the museums are then instructed to make updates that replace “divisive or ideologically driven” language with “unifying, historically accurate” content.
The directive comes with a deadline, as the Trump administration readies its plans for America’s 250th anniversary celebration in Washington next year. The Smithsonian is expected to submit extensive documentation of its review within 30 days before starting to make the expected changes.
“This is about preserving trust in one of our most cherished institutions,” said White House senior associate Lindsay Halligan, one of the officials who signed the letter, in a statement. “The Smithsonian museums and exhibits should be accurate, patriotic, and enlightening—ensuring they remain places of learning, wonder, and national pride for generations to come.”
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The Smithsonian was diplomatic in its reply to the White House letter, saying, “The Smithsonian’s work is grounded in a deep commitment to scholarly excellence, rigorous research, and the accurate, factual presentation of history. We are reviewing the letter with this commitment in mind and will continue to collaborate constructively with the White House, Congress, and our governing Board of Regents.”
However, The Wall Street Journal spoke with historians who fear that the president’s vendetta against so-called “diversity, equity and inclusion” initiatives may have a negative impact on the Smithsonian’s ability to give a comprehensive look at U.S. history.
“The Smithsonian museums have never reflected one person’s view, or even one administration’s view,” Harvard history professor Tiya Miles told the outlet. “They have reflected the composite research, analysis, discussion, findings of many different people, scholars and researchers.”
Sarah Weicksel, executive director of the American Historical Association, agreed, telling WSJ, “If those things are taken out of the hands of historians, the public stands to lose a great deal in having reliable and engaging content that tells a whole and complex story of the American past.”
Following his March executive order, Trump’s White House has already been accused of trying to rewrite history at the Smithsonian.
On July 31, The Washington Post reported on a recent change to an exhibit at the National Museum of American History titled “The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden.” A section of the display is dedicated to U.S. presidents who have faced impeachment, and includes information about Andrew Jackson, Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon. (While Jackson and Clinton were successfully impeached, Nixon resigned the presidency before getting to that point.)
Since September 2021, the exhibit had featured a temporary label about Trump’s historic two impeachments, along with a notice for visitors that read: “Case under redesign (history happens).”
However, the Post reported that the label was removed in July “as part of a content review that the Smithsonian agreed to undertake following pressure from the White House to remove an art museum director.”
Without no mention of Trump, the exhibit has now reverted back to suggesting that “only three presidents have seriously faced removal,” despite that Trump has more experience with impeachment than any other president.
A Smithsonian spokesperson told the Post at the time that the Trump label was merely intended to be “a short-term addition to address current events.”
“In reviewing our legacy content recently, it became clear that the ‘Limits of Presidential Power’ section in ‘The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden’ exhibition needed to be addressed,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
The section of this exhibition covers Congress, The Supreme Court, Impeachment, and Public Opinion. Because the other topics in this section had not been updated since 2008, the decision was made to restore the Impeachment case back to its 2008 appearance.”