The White House reviews the Smithsonian museums before the 250th anniversary of the United States
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
According to President Donald Trump, Smithsonian museums must represent the United States and represent both good American history.
Trump made his comments after the White House sent a letter to the Smithsonian on Tuesday revealing plans to examine his museums and exhibitions in preparation for the 250th anniversary of the United States in 2026.
“We want museums to treat our country fairly,” Trump told journalists on Thursday. “We want their museums to talk about the history of our country in a fair way, not in a awakened or racist way, which is that many of them, but not all, but many of them do.”
White House Reviewing All Smithsonian Museum, Exposing content before America 250 Celebration in 2026
According to President Donald Trump, Smithsonian museums must represent the United States and represent both good American history. (Jessica Koscielniak / Reuters)
“Our museums have the obligation to represent what has happened in our country over the years. Good and bad,” said Trump. “But what happened over the years precisely.”
The Smithsonian told Fox News Digital that he was examining the Trump administration’s letter and would work with the White House, the Congress and its Board of Directors in the future.
“Smithsonian’s work is based on a deep commitment to learned excellence, rigorous research and the exact and factual presentation of history,” the Smithsonian said in a press release.
Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff of the White House, weighed on the issue earlier Thursday, saying that leftist activists had “obscurely degraded” the museum.
Click here to obtain the Fox News app
“Smithsonian is supposed to be a global symbol of American strength, culture and prestige”, ” Miller posted on X Thursday. “A place where families and children to celebrate American history and grandeur. Instead, the exhibitions were clearly taken up by leftist activists who used the Smithsonian still a platform to constantly disparage America and rewrite / erase our magnificent history.
“These activists have obscurely degraded this beloved institution,” added Miller. “The Trump administration will proudly and diligently restore the patriotic glory of America and make sure that the Smithsonian is a place that once again inspires love and devotion to this nation, especially among our younger citizens.”
The initial letter from the White House to the Smithsonian on Tuesday said that the exam would assess social media, the text of the exhibition and the educational material. This would be done to “assess the tone, historic framing and alignment with American ideals,” said the letter.
“This initiative aims to align with the president’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, eliminate division or supporters’ accounts and restore confidence in our common cultural institutions,” said the letter.
The National Museum of American History of the Smithsonian Institution, seen from the Washington monument on June 3, 2025, in Washington. (Images Kevin Carter / Getty)
The review will focus on the following museums: the National Museum of American History, the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of African-American History and Culture, the National Museum of American Indians, the National Air and Space Museum, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Portrait Gallery and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Museum.
Liberty and Unity: what the 250th anniversary of America asks us today
Trump has taken previous measures to modify the content shown in the museums of the Smithsonian and signed a decree in March which placed the vice-president JD Vance responsible for supervising the removal of programs or exhibitions which “degrade the shared American values, divide the Americans according to the breed or the promotion of programs or ideologies incompatible with the law and the federal policies”.
Vance has already decided to make things happen at the Smithsonian.
Vice-president JD Vance has already made things happen to the Smithsonian. (Images Kevin Dietsch / Getty)
The artist Amy Sherald canceled an exhibition planned to arrive at the Smithsonian in September which included a portrait of a transgender statue of freedom at the National Portrait Gallery after Vance said that the show presented a awakened and divider content, reported Fox News Digital.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
