President Donald Trump, has sent a letter to the Smithsonian Institution and other museums, requesting a “comprehensive internal review” and calling for the removal of divisive or partisan narratives ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration.
Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) is applauding the president’s call to remove divisive and ideologically-driven content at taxpayer-funded institutions, saying, “The reforms Trump is instituting at the Smithsonian can’t come soon enough.”
Lee, in a post on X, said that there is no place for racist and anti-American messages “whether on the Smithsonian’s website or as part of a physical exhibit at a museum” at institutions funded by U.S. taxpayers.
The president, in a post Tuesday on his Truth Social platform, called the Smithsonian and other institutions “the last remaining segment of ‘WOKE'” and is directing them to replace divisive language with “unifying, historically accurate, and constructive descriptions across placards, wall didactics, digital displays, and other public-facing materials.”
Trump specifically mentioned anti-American propaganda at the Smithsonian’s American History Museum, saying, “Everything discussed is how horrible our Country is, how bad Slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been.”
In a statement released in June, the Smithsonian claimed that it is committed to remaining “free from political or partisan influence.”
The “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” executive order signed by Trump in March, accused the Smithsonian of being “under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology” and of promoting “narratives that portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive.”
The letter sent by the White House to the Smithsonian Institution, explains, “This initiative aims to ensure alignment with the President’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.”
Museums currently facing review include 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 the American Indian, the National Air and Space Museum, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Portrait Gallery and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.