The White House does not belong to Donald Trump. It is the property of the United States — of the American people. The president is a temporary resident whose claim on the building lasts only as long as his time in office, which is set by the Constitution.

The Smithsonian Institution does not belong to President Trump, either. It is not even part of the executive branch. It was established by Congress in 1846 as a “trust instrumentality,” an independent organization backed by the government and administered by a Board of Regents that consists of the chief justice and the vice president of the United States, federal lawmakers and private citizens. In the broad sense, then, the Smithsonian also belongs to the American people, as an expression of their interest in “the increase and diffusion of knowledge.”

And it should go without saying that Washington — a city of 700,000 people with its own government and elected leaders — is neither the president’s plaything nor his possession.

Of course none of this has kept the president from acting as if he does own the White House, the Smithsonian, the District of Columbia and practically everything else under the flag as well. It has not stopped him from paving over the historic Rose Garden or developing plans to construct a gaudy new ballroom for an Executive Mansion now adorned in the same manufactured, faux-baroque glamour as his other chintz-draped properties.

That Trump lacks any claim on the Smithsonian has not stopped him from trying to impose his vision of American history on its museums. His administration is in the process of trying to censor exhibits that in his view spend too much time on the ugly side of the American experience. “The Smithsonian is OUT OF CONTROL, where everything discussed is how horrible our Country is, how bad Slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been — Nothing about Success, nothing about Brightness, nothing about the Future,” the president wrote on his Truth Social website. It is clear, from his mention of slavery, that the president has the National Museum of African American History in his cross hairs. But the White House review of the Smithsonian extends to other museums as well. The administration “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.”

And the president’s clear sense of ownership of Washington has expressed itself in the form of an armed military occupation of the most visible parts of the city. Trump has also called for a $2 billion “beautification” campaign to shape the city to his liking. It is not for nothing that he has hung large portraits of himself from federal buildings, in a flourish befitting the authoritarian and totalitarian societies he so deeply admires.