President Trump on Thursday signed an executive order aimed at exerting more control over content displayed at Smithsonian museums and federal sites.
The executive order specifically accuses the Smithsonian Institution of falling under the influence of a “divisive, race-centered ideology” in recent years.
It points to exhibits such as “Stories of Race and American Sculpture” at the American Art Museum and references in the National Museum of African American History and Culture that label hard work, individualism, and the nuclear family as aspects of “white culture.”
“Museums in our Nation’s capital should be places where individuals go to learn — not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history,” the order states.
The directive calls on Vice President J.D. Vance to lead efforts to ensure Smithsonian museums present history in a way that “reminds Americans of our extraordinary heritage” rather than fueling division.
Additionally, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum is tasked with reviewing whether any public monuments, memorials, or statues were removed under the Biden administration that contributed to a “false reconstruction of American history.”
The Smithsonian, which receives a significant portion of its budget from taxpayer dollars, has come under scrutiny for using federal funds while allegedly promoting leftist ideology. In its most recent budget request, the institution sought over $1 billion from Congress to cover “essential operating expenses.”
“Donors tend to be attracted to museum openings and exhibitions, not the prosaic annual budgetary requirements of staffing, maintenance, and operations that we rely on the federal Government for help to meet. For all our collaborations and ancillary sources of funding, the U.S. Congress remains our most important partner,” Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch stated in the request.
Trump’s order instructs the administration to ensure taxpayer dollars do not go to exhibits that “degrade shared American values, divide Americans by race, or promote ideologies inconsistent with Federal law,” including content that promotes gender ideology.
Reversing Biden’s “Woke” Agenda in Museums and Monuments
Trump’s executive action is part of his broader push to roll back Biden-era initiatives that prioritized diversity, equity, and inclusion—policies that many conservatives argue have distorted history and pandered to left-wing activists.
Democrats aggressively pushed for reexamining monuments to Confederate figures following the 2020 racial protests, a movement that resulted in the renaming of Fort Bragg in North Carolina to Fort Liberty.
The Trump administration has already reversed that renaming, restoring Fort Bragg’s original name, arguing that historical erasure is not the solution to national unity.
During his 2020 campaign, Biden claimed that while federal statues of historical figures should be protected, local governments should decide whether to remove Confederate monuments.
However, many conservatives argue that this approach emboldened activists to erase American history under the guise of progress.
Destroy America’s history, that is what the democratic party is trying to do, it all started during the Obama and Biden administrations by sewing the seeds of division.
Long overdue & needed