Trump pushed by longtime confidant to 'fire everyone at the Smithsonian'

Donald Trump is being pushed by a close ally to fire everyone who works at the Smithsonian.

Roger Stone, one of Donald Trump's longest-serving political allies and a self-described devoted admirer of Richard Nixon, is calling on the president to purge the Smithsonian Institution after the museum was accused of making a false claim about Nixon's impeachment history.

"President Trump should fire everyone at the Smithsonian about this lie," Stone wrote on X, posting a photo of the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum alongside a headline reading "Smithsonian Accused of Rewriting Nixon History with False Impeachment Claim." He added: "More importantly, make the list of those responsible public."

Nixon was never impeached. He resigned from the presidency in August 1974 before the full House of Representatives could vote on articles of impeachment that had been approved by the Judiciary Committee. The distinction is a significant one historically, and any claim that Nixon was impeached would be factually incorrect.

Stone, who has a tattoo of Nixon on his back and has long positioned himself as a guardian of the former president's legacy, was pardoned by Trump during his first term after being convicted of lying to Congress, witness tampering, and obstruction in connection with the Russia investigation.

His call for mass firings at the Smithsonian fits a broader pattern in which Trump allies have urged the administration to use federal workforce powers against institutions they view as politically hostile. The Smithsonian Institution is a federally funded complex of museums and research centers. It has not publicly responded to Stone's post.