Topline
President Donald Trump lamented mentions of “how bad Slavery was” at the Smithsonian and other museums, calling them “the last remaining segment of ‘woke’” as he seeks to exert more control over cultural institutions in his second term.
United States President Donald Trump participates in a Multilateral Meeting with European Leaders in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US. Picture date: Monday August 18, 2025. (Photo by Aaron Schwartz/PA Images via Getty Images)
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Key Facts
Trump said on Truth Social on Tuesday he instructed White House lawyers to review museums across the country for any “woke” material, calling the Smithsonian “OUT OF CONTROL.”
“Everything discussed is how horrible our Country is, how bad Slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been,” Trump wrote.
Trump’s statement follows reports earlier this month that the administration was conducting a review of the Smithsonian Institution “to restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions,” according to a letter White House officials sent to Smithsonian secretary Lonnie Bunch, NBC News reported.
Trump said Tuesday he’s instructed his attorneys to conduct “the exact same process that has been done with Colleges and Universities,” referring to his efforts to revoke federal funding at schools that don’t adhere to his ideological directives.
What Has Trump Done To Remove Material At National Parks?
U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum in a May 20 order instructed the National Park Service to “remove any content” that does not work toward Trump’s directive to make federal sites “uplifting public monuments that remind Americans of our extraordinary heritage.” The National Park Service then began posting signs in federal parks asking visitors to report information they deemed “negative about either past or living Americans,” sparking backlash from park advocacy groups that encouraged people to send in positive messages. The counter-effort appears to have been successful, according to a Forbes review that found the vast majority of 274 comments submitted to the feedback site between June 5-19 were positive.
Tangent
The Smithsonian revised an exhibit about Trump’s impeachments with less critical language. The new placards at the Museum of American History, placed earlier this month, add the word “alleged” in a description of the allegations against Trump in his first impeachment and scrub mention of the Jan. 6 Capitol riots in the description of his second impeachment.
Key Background
Trump issued an executive order in March titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” that calls for the removal of “improper ideology” at the Smithsonian and National Zoo. In the subsequent letter sent earlier this month to Bunch, the White House instructed the Smithsonian—which includes 21 museums, 14 education and research centers and the National Zoo—to “begin implementing content corrections” within 120 days, warning “on-site observational visits” from White House officials would follow. Trump has also targeted the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in his war against “woke culture,” installing himself as chairman and terminating multiple Biden-era board members.
Further Reading
Trump Takes Over Kennedy Center In War On ‘Woke’ Programming—Here’s What To Know (Forbes)
Trump’s Crackdown On ‘Negative’ History At National Monuments Faces Sabotage By Counter-Protest (Forbes)
‘Hamilton’ Cancels Kennedy Center Show Run In Protest Of Trump’s ‘Purge’ (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2025/08/19/trump-complains-smithsonian-highlights-how-bad-slavery-was/
