Trump orders Smithsonian to post warnings about ‘inaccurate’ US history
President Donald Trump ordered signs placed outside the Smithsonian National Museum of American History to warn visitors that his administration’s views are “wrong.”
The order instructs the interior department to issue warnings and direct people where they can find “accurate information about America’s history.”
The Trump administration has frequently accused the Smithsonian Institution, the world’s largest research museum, as well as other academic institutions of harboring anti-American bias.
The Smithsonian did not immediately respond to the BBC’s request for comment.
Friday’s order, titled Restoring Trust at the Smithsonian Institution, accuses the museum’s management of not doing enough to celebrate America’s founders on the 250th anniversary of the nation’s independence, which takes place on July 4.
He says the museum’s leadership team “views American history as an ‘essential tool’ for advancing ideas of social justice and the radical transformation of our society.”
An accompanying White House statement, external he also accused the museum of “turning to extreme political activism based on Marxism to divide, demoralize, and discourage Americans.”
Friday’s executive order does not indicate which sources the White House believes would be better qualified to tell America’s history.
Democrats who oversee the Smithsonian quickly condemned the order.
Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury, ranking member of the House Administration Committee, wrote of X: “This EO is a clear political overreach driven by an ideological agenda to rewrite American history.” “Our Smithsonian institutions belong to the American people, not the President, and so does our nation’s history.”
The executive order comes just days after Smithsonian director Anthea Hartig was grilled by Republican lawmakers in two congressional hearings; here the museum was accused of being “influenced by a woke ideology that has infiltrated public exhibitions, educational materials and planning documents.”
Earlier this month, the White House Domestic Policy Council released a scathing report claiming the museum was “erasing our legacy.”
Trump has set out to radically reshape American culture, which he says has been contaminated by “woke” leftist ideology. He has signed several orders aimed at dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the federal government, some of which have led to legal challenges.
He issued a separate order against the Smithsonian in March, directing it to “eliminate inappropriate, divisive, or anti-American ideology.”
The Smithsonian is largely funded by the federal government. Its museums offer free admission to approximately 15 to 30 million visitors each year. It operates 21 museums in Washington, Virginia and New York.
These include the National Museum of American History, the National Portrait Gallery, the Museum of American Art, the National Zoo, and more than a dozen other places.
