Donald Trump has issued the Smithsonian Museum to review its exhibits and operations to align them with his own view of American history.
The White House has allegedly pressured the institution to review their exhibitions as per The Wall Street Journal on August 12, a letter was sent by White House officials to Smithsonian secretary Lonnie Bunch.
The letter is supposed to follow up on an executive order made in on March 27, which is titled ‘Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History’.
"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 order read.
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The latest letter allegedly offers guidance on how it can complete the tasks, such as replacing ‘divisive or ideologically driven’ content with ‘unifying, historically accurate’ language, which is supposed to send a finalized report within 30 days before it can make changes.
As for why the White House wants the museum to change its materials, White House senior associate Lindsay Halligan signed the letter which said: “This is about preserving trust in one of our most cherished institutions."
It added: “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.”
However, the Smithsonian pushed back, writing in its reply that its ‘work is grounded in a deep commitment to scholarly excellence, rigorous research, and the accurate, factual presentation of history'.
It made note that it is ‘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’.
Trump's White House has since been accused of attempting to rewrite history at the Smithsonian and on July 31, it was reported by the Washington Post that a change to an exhibit at the National Museum of American History called ‘The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden’.
Ever since 2021, the exhibit had a label which talked about Trump's two impeachments and a note for visitors reading, ‘Case under redesign (history happens)’.
But the Post reported that the label was removed in July, which was ‘part of a content review that the Smithsonian agreed to undertake following pressure from the White House to remove an art museum director'.
A Smithsonian spokesperson told the outlet at the time that the label was only supposed 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 light of the changes, a CNN pundit has been accused of ‘historical revisionism’ by Ritchie Torres after she defended Trump’s review.
“He’s not whitewashing slavery, and you cannot tie Imperialism and racism and slavery to just one race, which is pretty much what every single exhibit does,” Jilian Michaels told CNN host Abby Phillip on Wednesday (August 13).
When Michaels said slavery is ‘thousands of years old,’ Torres said: “This is extraordinary historical revisionism.”
It’s sparking quite the debate.
Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News, History
Britt Jones