Trump Launches Attack on Smithsonian, Seeks to Censor Historical Truths
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President Trump has issued an executive order forcing the Smithsonian National Museum of American History to post misleading warnings on exhibits, attempting to delegitimize narratives that challenge his administration's regressive ideology.
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order compelling the Department of the Interior to force the Smithsonian National Museum of American History to post notices warning visitors that some exhibits are 'inaccurate,' and to direct them to so-called 'accurate' sources for information about America's past. This order, cynically titled 'Restoring Trust in the Smithsonian Institution,' baselessly accuses museum leadership of using history to promote social justice and a 'radical transformation' of society—language that reveals the administration's hostility to honest reckoning with America's past. A White House statement accompanying the order outrageously claims the museum is embracing 'extreme political activism, rooted in Marxism, to divide, dispirit, and discourage Americans,' a tired right-wing trope used to silence calls for equity and justice. The order fails to specify which sources the administration deems 'reliable,' raising concerns about government censorship and historical revisionism.
Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury, ranking member of the House Administration Committee, condemned the move on social media, rightly calling it a dangerous political overreach and reminding the public that the Smithsonian belongs to the people, not to any one president. The order comes after congressional hearings where Smithsonian director Anthea Hartig was grilled over supposed 'woke' influences in museum content—an ongoing right-wing crusade to erase diversity and inclusion from public institutions. This directive is just the latest in a string of Trump administration attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in federal agencies, many of which have faced legal challenges. The Smithsonian, a vital public institution funded mostly by taxpayers, operates 21 museums and welcomes millions of visitors each year, all of whom deserve access to honest, inclusive history.