Trump orders Smithsonian to flag 'inaccurate' exhibits
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- Trump signed an executive order titled "Restoring Trust in the Smithsonian Institution," directing the Department of Interior to place warning signs outside the National Museum of American History flagging exhibits his administration calls "inaccurate" and pointing visitors to "accurate information regarding America's history."
- The order accuses Smithsonian leadership of viewing American history as a "'prime tool' to advance ideas of social justice and the radical transformation of our society," with an accompanying White House statement claiming the museum is veering "toward extreme political activism, rooted in Marxism."
- The order follows two recent congressional hearings where Smithsonian director Anthea Hartig was grilled by Republicans who accused the museum of being "infected by a woke ideology that seeped into public displays, educational materials and planning documents."
- This marks Trump's second executive order targeting the Smithsonian this year — a March order directed the institution to "eliminate improper, divisive, or anti-American ideology," while a White House Domestic Policy Council report earlier this month claimed the museum "erases our heritage."
- Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury, ranking member of the House Administration Committee, condemned the order as "a clear political overreach, driven by an ideological agenda to rewrite American history," stating the Smithsonian "does not belong to the President, but to the American people."
- The Smithsonian — largely federally funded — operates 21 museums across Washington, Virginia, and New York, offering free entry to an estimated 15-30 million visitors annually, and had not publicly responded to the order at time of publication.
Why it matters: The Smithsonian draws 15-30 million free visitors annually to 21 federally funded museums, giving this executive order outsized reach over how Americans physically encounter national history. The order lands just three days after the July 4 anniversary and follows a March directive to "eliminate improper, divisive, or anti-American ideology," marking an escalation from reviewing the institution's content to physically labeling its exhibits.
