🚨 Trump is targeting the Smithsonian National Museum Of African American History And Culture, May return confederate statues

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Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: Section 1. Purpose and

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Trump executive order on Smithsonian targets funding for programs with 'improper ideology'

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order on the Smithsonian Institution that targets funding to programs that contain what he calls “divisive narratives” and “improper ideology.”

apnews.com

Trump executive order on Smithsonian targets funding for programs with ‘improper ideology’
Summarize
Trump executive order on Smithsonian targets funding for programs with ‘improper ideology’

People wait in line to enter the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Cultural on the National Mall in Washington, Mat 1, 2017. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)
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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday revealed his intention to force changes at the Smithsonian Institution with an executive order that targets funding for programs that advance “divisive narratives” and “improper ideology,” the latest step in a broadside against culture he deems too liberal.

Trump claimed there has been a “concerted and widespread” effort over the past decade to rewrite American history by replacing “objective facts” with a “distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth,” adding that it casts the “founding principles” of the United States in a “negative light.”

The order he signed behind closed doors puts Vice President JD Vance, who serves on the Smithsonian Institution’s Board of Regents, in charge of overseeing efforts to “remove improper ideology” from all areas of the institution, including its museums, education and research centers, and the National Zoo.

People gather for a ribbon cutting ceremony at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery to announce the installation of a life-size painting of President Abraham Lincoln by artist W.F.K. Travers, Feb. 10, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
People gather for a ribbon cutting ceremony at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery to announce the installation of a life-size painting of President Abraham Lincoln by artist W.F.K. Travers, Feb. 10, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
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It marks the Republican president’s latest salvo against cultural pillars of society, such as universities and art, that he considers out of step with conservative sensibilities. Trump recently had himself installed as chairman of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts with the aim of overhauling programming, including the annual Kennedy Center Honors awards show. The administration also recently forced Columbia University to make a series of policy changes by threatening the Ivy League school with the loss of several hundred million dollars in federal funding.

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The executive order also hints at the return of statues and monuments of Confederate figures, many of which were taken down or replaced around the country after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020 and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, which is detested by Trump and other conservatives.

The order also calls for improvements to Independence Hall in Philadelphia by July 4, 2026, in time for the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Trump singled out the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opened in 2016 near the White House, the Women’s History Museum, which is in development, and the American Art Museum for criticism.

“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,” he said.

Linda St. Thomas, the Smithsonian Institution’s chief spokesperson, said in an email late Thursday, “We have no comment for now.”

Under Trump’s order, Vance will also work with the White House budget office to make sure future funding for the Smithsonian Institution isn’t spent on programs that “degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with federal law and policy.” Trump also wants to ensure that the women’s history museum celebrates women and not “recognize men as women in any respect.”

It also requires the interior secretary to reinstate monuments, memorials, statues and similar properties that have been removed or changed since Jan. 1, 2020, to “perpetuate a false reconstruction of American history, inappropriately minimize the value of certain historical events or figures, or include any other improper partisan ideology.”

The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education and research complex. It consists of 21 museums and the National Zoo. Eleven museums are located along the National Mall in Washington.

 

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What is the Smithsonian, and why is President Trump unhappy with it?

The Smithsonian, which oversees numerous museums and cultural centers including the Air and Space Museum and the National Museum of African American History and Culture, is coming under criticism from President Donald Trump.

apnews.com

What is the Smithsonian, and why is President Trump unhappy with it?
Summarize
What is the Smithsonian, and why is President Trump unhappy with it?

People wait in line to enter the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Cultural on the National Mall in Washington, Mat 1, 2017. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump’s executive order titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” targets the Smithsonian Institution — which has, he contends, “come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology.” Critics have pushed back, saying the order is an attempt to whitewash American history.

His order is part of a wave of actions against cultural organizations that he alleges have been overtaken by “woke” ideology, from the Kennedy Center to the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The Voice of America and PBS are also in his sights.

Trump has tasked Vice President JD Vance to lead the effort to “effectuate the policies” of the executive order, including to ensure no funding goes to “exhibits or programs that degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with Federal law and policy.”

Here’s a look at the Smithsonian Institution and what’s going on with it.

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What is the Smithsonian?

With an annual budget exceeding $1 billion, the Smithsonian is the “world’s largest museum, education, and research complex,” according to its website.

It was conceived in the 19th century by the British scientist, James Smithson, who bequeathed his estate for the purpose of a Washington-based establishment that helps with “the increase and diffusion of knowledge.” In 1846, 17 years after Smithson’s death, President James K. Polk signed legislation calling for the Institution’s formation.

The Smithsonian now operates a broad range of cultural centers in Washington and beyond, including the Air and Space Museum, the Portrait Gallery, the National Zoo and the Smithsonian Gardens. Around 60% of its funding is from the federal government, but the Institution also receives money from “trust funds or non-federal funds, which include contributions from private sources,” according to its website.

What are Trump’s specific objections?

In his executive order, he made the claim that “the National Museum of African American History and Culture has proclaimed that ‘hard work,’ ‘individualism,’ and ‘the nuclear family’ are aspects of ‘White culture’” and criticized an upcoming exhibit at the American Women’s History Museum that highlights the achievements of trans athletes. He also singled out an exhibit at the American Art Museum that “promotes the view that race is not a biological reality but a social construct.”

What has Trump said before about the African American museum?

In 2017, Trump visited the National Museum of African American History and Culture with then-Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and Alveda King, a niece of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The president’s tour was guided by Lonnie Bunch, the Smithsonian Institution’s current secretary and founding director of NMAAHC.

The museum includes an exhibit highlighting the career achievements of Carson, a successful pediatric neurosurgeon who has long been celebrated as a role model to Black aspiring medical doctors.

“I’m deeply proud that we now have a museum that honors the millions of African American men and women who built our national heritage, especially when it comes to faith, culture and the unbreakable American spirit,” Trump said following the 2017 tour. “I know President (Barack) Obama was here for the museum’s opening last fall. And I’m honored to be the second sitting president to visit this great museum.”

What has been the response to Trump’s executive order?

Outside the National Museum of African American History and Culture on Friday, Trump’s executive order and its potential impact were met with dismay.

Dorothy Wilson, visiting for the first time with her two grandchildren, said she was very concerned about what it would mean for them and others if they weren’t able to learn the truth about the past.

“It really hurts generations because your history is who you are,” she said.

Elizabeth Pagano, coming from New York state’s Hudson Valley, said: “The history of the United States, and the history of everybody that came through, is everybody’s history. You can’t pick and choose your history.”

In a statement, Margaret Huang, president and CEO of the Southern Poverty Law Center, said, “Black history is U.S. history. Women’s history is U.S. history. This country’s history is ugly and beautiful. And each historic struggle for civil rights has advanced our movement toward a truly inclusive, multiracial democracy.”

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