It boggles the mind sometimes why leftists do the things they do, when it doesn't take much to debunk their accusations and gaslighting--especially when it's something they can try to blame on President Donald Trump.
In just the latest instance of this, as I wrote just about a week ago, the legacy media was in full panic mode over history allegedly being rewritten by the new stewards of the Smithsonian Institution
I recently wrote about their removal (in late July) of a placard in an exhibit on America's presidents, making an educated guess on why lefty media rags--including WaPo and USA Today--were left apoplectic:
One of those display placards has found itself as the subject of the latest lefty nontroversy, with the legacy media showing it can't bear the fact that their fellow resisters are losing their grip on rewriting history at American cultural mainstays like the Smithsonian, as USA Today does here:
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., has removed references to President Donald Trump in a display about impeachments, despite Trump being the first and only president in American history to be impeached twice. But the museum says the move is temporary.
The Washington Post first reported the change on Thursday, July 31. On Friday, Aug. 1, the Smithsonian clarified the museum's removal. Here's what we know.
The "impeachment" display is housed within the larger, permanent gallery called "The American Presidency," which opened in 2000, according to an emailed statement from the Smithsonian. It features information and artifacts about Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon, according to the display's companion website. Nixon resigned before he could be formally impeached.
The institution patiently explains the common-sense reason for the change--the label was never meant to be permanent:
In September 2021, a "temporary label on content concerning the impeachments of Donald J. Trump" was added, according to the Smithsonian's statement. "It was intended to be a short-term measure to address current events at the time, however, the label remained in place until July 2025."
The display has since been returned to how it appeared nearly 20 years ago, according to the Smithsonian statement and the Washington Post's report, which also noted that the exhibit now says, "only three presidents have seriously faced removal," omitting Trump
In a statement shared to its X account, the Smithsonian did its level best to steer things back to the facts: (emphasis added)
"As the keeper of memory for the nation, it is our privilege and responsibility to tell accurate and complete histories," the institution wrote. "As has been recently reported, in July, a placard was removed from @amhistorymuseum’s exhibit 'The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden.' The intent of the “Impeachment” section of the exhibit is to reflect all impeachment proceedings in our nation’s history."
"The placard, which was meant to be a temporary addition to a 25-year-old exhibition, did not meet the museum’s standards in appearance, location, timeline, and overall presentation," they continued. "It was not consistent with other sections in the exhibit and moreover blocked the view of the objects inside its case. For these reasons, we removed the placard. We were not asked by any Administration or other government official to remove content from the exhibit."
The Smithsonian closed by promising to update the "impeachment" section "in the coming weeks to reflect all impeachment proceedings in our nation’s history."
Axios reported on Friday that, as promised, the institution quickly completed the update--and it's now clear as day why they had to change the placard and other parts of the impeachment section: (emphasis added)
Zoom in: Trump's return to the impeachment case within the museum's "American Presidency: A Glorious Burden" exhibit came with some changes, photos that a Smithsonian spokesperson shared with Axios show.
- Edits include the addition of the word "alleged" in the placard's description of the actions that led to Trump's first impeachment. (Trump is the only president to be impeached twice.)
- The museum also updated a panel to include Trump's name alongside Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton's.
While the publication doesn't elaborate on which "actions" were described by the display card, it doesn't take a lot of imagination to work it out what a far-left activist type assigned to work in the Smithsonian concocted. It rhymes with "Russia, Russia, Russia!"
In a new statement from the Smithsonian's spokesperson to Axios, the institution said:
"The updated display now reflects all presidential impeachments. Adhering to principles foundational to our role as the nation's museum, we take great care to ensure that what we present to the public reflects both intellectual integrity and thoughtful design."
Leave it to Axios, though, to keep trying to continue the nontroversy by pointing a finger back at Donald Trump and his administration, as I mentioned earlier:
The other side: Lindsey Halligan, a White House official told The Post that the White House wasn't involved with the changes.
- "That said, it's encouraging to see the institution taking steps that align with President Trump's Executive Order to restore truth to American History," she said, also noting that Trump was acquitted twice by Senate.
Bingo! And that's exactly the sort of true historical fact that the Left would rather people forget.
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