Trump orders Smithsonian to post warnings about 'inaccurate' US history
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order directing the Smithsonian Institution to place signs cautioning visitors about exhibits his administration deems inaccurate and to direct them to sources of 'accurate information'.
President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order requiring the Department of Interior to place warning signs outside the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. The signs are to alert visitors about exhibits the administration considers inaccurate and to point them toward 'accurate information regarding America's history'.
The Trump administration has frequently accused the Smithsonian Institution—the world's largest research museum complex—and other academic organizations of harboring an anti-American bias. The Smithsonian did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The order, titled 'Restoring Trust in the Smithsonian Institution,' criticizes the museum's leadership for not doing enough to celebrate America's founders on the country's 250th anniversary of independence. It states that the leadership team 'views American history as a "prime tool" to advance ideas of social justice and the radical transformation of our society.'
A White House statement accompanying the order further accused the museum of veering 'toward extreme political activism, rooted in Marxism, to divide, dispirit, and discourage Americans.' The executive order does not specify what sources the White House considers more qualified to tell America's history.
Democrats overseeing the Smithsonian quickly condemned the move. Representative Melanie Stansbury, the ranking member of the House Administration Committee, called it 'a clear political overreach, driven by an ideological agenda to rewrite American history.' She stressed that the Smithsonian belongs to the American people, not the president.
The order comes days after Smithsonian director Anthea Hartig faced questioning from Republican lawmakers in two congressional hearings, where the museum was accused of being 'infected by a woke ideology.' Earlier this month, the White House Domestic Policy Council released a report claiming the museum 'erases our heritage.'
Trump has previously targeted the Smithsonian. In March, he issued a separate order directing it to eliminate 'improper, divisive, or anti-American ideology.' The institution is largely funded by the federal government and offers free admission to 15–30 million visitors annually across 21 museums in Washington, Virginia, and New York, including the National Museum of American History, the National Portrait Gallery, and the American Art Museum.
