Maddow Blog-White House to review Smithsonian exhibits to ensure Trump's views are reflected

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As a political matter, Donald Trump and his team have made this a difficult year for the Smithsonian. It’s poised to get much worse.

If Republicans want Trump’s critics to stop calling him an authoritarian, maybe White House officials shouldn’t tell the Smithsonian that they’ll be reviewing exhibits to ensure the president’s views are reflected. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-08-12T18:33:58.090Z

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/white-house-review-smithsonian-exhibits-ensure-trumps-views-are-reflec-rcna224589

Late last week, the museum restored information about the incumbent president to a display on presidential impeachments, but the new version wasn’t necessarily improved: It made changes to the original and removed some details.

But just because things are bad doesn’t mean they can’t get worse. The Wall Street Journal reported:

The White House plans to conduct a far-reaching review of Smithsonian museum exhibitions, materials and operations ahead of America’s 250th anniversary to ensure the museums align with President Trump’s interpretation of American history. In a letter sent to Lonnie Bunch, the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, three top White House officials said they want to ensure the museums’ ‘unity, progress, and enduring values that define the American story’ and reflect the president’s executive order calling for ‘Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.’

The Journal’s report, which has been independently verified by NBC News, added that Team Trump intends to scrutinize everything “from public-facing exhibition text and online content to internal curatorial processes, exhibition planning, the use of collections and artist grants.”.....

Of course, there’s no reason to believe that Americans have lost confidence in the Smithsonian, just as there’s no reason to believe the public will feel greater confidence in the museums after Team Trump advances its wildly unnecessary initiative. (The letter was signed by White House senior associate Lindsey Halligan, the director of the domestic policy council, Vince Haley, and the director of the office of Management and Budget, Russ Vought.)....

The title of the White House’s order from March said the directive was intended to restore “sanity to American history.” Given the circumstances, “sanity” is not the word that comes to mind.

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1. Here is a link to trump's "fact sheet" on editing history at the Smithsonian

This "fact sheet" is very upsetting and sad
https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/03/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-restores-truth-and-sanity-to-american-history/

Here are some of the provisions of this "fact sheet"

The Order directs the Vice President, who is a member of the Smithsonian Board of Regents, to work to eliminate improper, divisive, or anti-American ideology from the Smithsonian and its museums, education and research centers, and the National Zoo.

The Order directs the Administration to work with Congress to ensure that future Smithsonian appropriations: (1) prohibit funding for exhibits or programs that degrade shared American values, divide Americans by race, or promote ideologies inconsistent with Federal law; and (2) celebrate women’s achievements in the American Women’s History Museum and do not recognize men as women.

The Vice President will work with congressional leaders to appoint members to the Smithsonian Board of Regents who are committed to advancing the celebration of America’s extraordinary heritage and progress.

trump had to insult the Biden administration in this "fact sheet"

COMBATING CORROSIVE IDEOLOGY: In the last decade, Americans have witnessed a concerted effort to rewrite American history and force our nation to adopt a factually baseless ideology aimed at diminishing American achievement. President Trump is fighting back by reestablishing truth in the historical narrative and restoring Federal sites dedicated to American heritage.

The prior administration pushed a divisive ideology that reconstrued America’s promotion of liberty as fundamentally flawed, infecting revered institutions like the Smithsonian and national parks with false narratives.

trump never studied history and trump's proposed revisions to history are really disgusting

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2. White House reviewing Smithsonian exhibits to make sure they align with Trump's vision

The president signed an executive order earlier this year ordering the removal of "improper ideology" from the museum system.

We’re not getting there. We are there.

www.nbcnews.com/politics/whi...

— The Tennessee Holler (@thetnholler.bsky.social) 2025-08-12T21:36:27.392Z

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/white-house-reviewing-smithsonian-exhibits-make-sure-align-trumps-visi-rcna224588

The White House is conducting an expansive review of the Smithsonian's museum exhibitions, materials and operations ahead of America’s 250th anniversary to ensure they align with President Donald Trump's view of history.

The assessment, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal and later confirmed to NBC News, will include reviews of online content, internal curatorial processes, exhibition planning, the use of collections and artist grants, and wording related to museum exhibit messaging.....

News of the review was outlined in a letter sent Tuesday to Lonnie Bunch, the institution's secretary. White House senior associate Lindsey Halligan, Domestic Policy Council Director Vince Haley and White House Office of Management and Budget director Russ Vought signed the letter........

Trump's executive order called for changes at the museum system, charging that 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.”

“[W]e will restore the Smithsonian Institution to its rightful place as a symbol of inspiration and American greatness — igniting the imagination of young minds, honoring the richness of American history and innovation, and instilling pride in the hearts of all Americans,” the order said.

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3. I can see trump having issues with the Holocaust and Hitler

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4. For this thread

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5. MaddowBlog-Trump complains that 'woke' Smithsonian focuses on 'how bad slavery was'

The president’s campaign against the Smithsonian Institution was already indefensible. With new false and weird claims, it’s suddenly even worse.

Just when it seemed Trump’s offensive against the Smithsonian couldn’t get more ridiculous, he started whining today about its museums focusing on “how bad Slavery was.” www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-08-19T20:24:20.849Z

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-complains-woke-smithsonian-focuses-bad-slavery-was-rcna225924

Last week, the White House let the Smithsonian know that it has plans to conduct a far-reaching review of its museums to ensure the content it presents to the public aligns with Trump’s views on American history. It’s against this backdrop that NBC News reported:

Trump voiced outrage this afternoon in a post on Truth Social about the types of exhibits shown in the Smithsonian and other museums across the country. ‘The Museums throughout Washington, but all over the Country are, essentially, the last remaining segment of ‘WOKE.’ The Smithsonian is OUT OF CONTROL, where everything discussed is how horrible our Country is, how bad Slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been — Nothing about Success, nothing about Brightness, nothing about the Future,’ he said.

.....The harangue comes just days after Stephen Miller, the deputy White House chief of staff, falsely claimed that Smithsonian exhibits have “clearly been taken over by leftwing activists” who have “obscenely defaced this beloved institution.”....

What’s more, the idea that exhibits talks about “how bad Slavery was” necessarily leads to questions about which parts of slavery the president believes weren’t “bad.”.....

Over the course of seven months, Trump has taken steps to exert unusual influence and control over everything from the economy to higher education, the judiciary to the media, private businesses to nonprofit organizations, the military to cultural institutions, labor unions to law enforcement, health care to sports teams, independent federal agencies to banks, the legal profession to the entertainment industry.

The president is now making it painfully clear that he has museums in his sights, too.

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6. The trumpies are partnering with PragerU, who said that slavery was "no big deal" and "better than being killed"

Mind you, a week ago, they partnered with PragerU, who said that slavery was “no big deal” and “better than being killed”

— Democrats (@democrats.org) 2025-08-19T20:04:45.705Z

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7. Trump says Smithsonian should portray America's 'Brightness,' not 'how bad Slavery was'

Making America great again means going back to a time where racial discrimination and oppression was okay. Now trump wants to make America great again by bringing back slavery. trump wants to make America hate again

Link to tweet

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-smithsonian-portray-americas-brightness-bad-slavery/story

President Donald Trump on Tuesday confirmed the White House is conducting a review of the Smithsonian museums and expressed frustration over their portrayal of dark parts of America's history, including slavery.

"The Smithsonian is OUT OF CONTROL, where everything discussed is how horrible our Country is, how bad Slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been -- Nothing about Success, nothing about Brightness, nothing about the Future," Trump wrote on his social media platform.

"We are not going to allow this to happen, and I have instructed my attorneys to go through the Museums, and start the exact same process that has been done with Colleges and Universities where tremendous progress has been made," Trump added. "This Country cannot be WOKE, because WOKE IS BROKE. We have the 'HOTTEST' Country in the World, and we want people to talk about it, including in our Museums."

The Smithsonian declined to comment.