Trump asks Smithsonian to erect giant George Washington statue

President Donald Trump, while flying to his golf resort in Ireland on Friday, used Truth Social to urge the Smithsonian Institution to erect a 30-foot "Colossus statue" of George Washington outside the National Museum of American History. He also asked for an accompanying exhibit honoring the first president to run through February 2032, marking the 300th anniversary of Washington's birth.

Trump described Washington as America's greatest hero, saying the country's freedoms would not exist without him. The proposed statue would replace Infinity, a sculpture by New York artist José de Rivera that has stood at the site since 1967, when it was commissioned by the federal government.

The request fits a broader pattern of Trump pushing the Smithsonian toward a different historical emphasis. His administration released a 162-page report in March 2025 criticizing the institution for focusing too heavily on oppression and division rather than shared national achievement. In July, he ordered signs be placed outside the American History museum calling for exhibits to be revised in line with that report, though the signs have not yet appeared.

In Friday's post, Trump complained the museum fails to highlight Washington's crossing of the Delaware River and his victory at Trenton during the Revolutionary War, calling for greater recognition of Americans who fought for independence. He suggested replacing the recently ended Center for Restorative History initiative with a new "Center for American Heroes."

However, the Smithsonian operates independently of the executive branch, governed by a board of regents that includes Vice President JD Vance, Chief Justice John Roberts, and a bipartisan group of lawmakers. Last week, Smithsonian secretary Lonnie Bunch announced he would step down by year's end after seven years leading the institution, having previously vowed to defend its independence.

The statue request is part of a wider effort by the administration to shape arts and culture, including a separate push to place an 11-foot Washington statue in the museum, a proposed "Garden of Heroes" along the Potomac, and a Washington statue already installed in the White House Rose Garden. Separately, the State Department is considering selling a painting by Kehinde Wiley that a department official criticized as overly political.