President Trump — who regularly denounces anything he dislikes as “fake news,” even when it is accurate — is now demanding that Smithsonian Institution museums undergo an overhaul to present a fake version of history that erases America’s flaws.
This is a dangerous assault on truth, the type of action authoritarian rulers take. It sounds like something out of George Orwell’s dystopian novel “1984,” where a totalitarian regime censors the news to distort the present and destroys historical records to rewrite the past to conform to the views of the all-powerful dictator known as Big Brother.
Trump, who seems to act as if he wants to be the Big Brother of 2025, has appointed himself America’s chief arbiter of what is fit to display in national museums.
Like the authoritarian leaders he envies for their unchecked power, Trump has a boundless desire to exercise unchallenged control over every aspect of life in his country. This is why he demands to dictate not just what the Smithsonian displays, but what the news media reports, by filing lawsuits and restricting their access to him; what foreign leaders do, by imposing tariffs on their countries; and what universities teach, by withholding billions of dollars in federal funds.
It is also why he has sent National Guard troops into the streets of Washington and Los Angeles to deal with non-existent emergencies, and launched what he calls the largest deportation program in American history against unauthorized immigrants.
Republicans who control the House and Senate have disgracefully abdicated their responsibility to act as a check and balance on Trump’s power grab. With their complicity, we are now essentially living in an authoritarian democracy — at least until the Democrats control one of those houses.
Trump is demanding that the Smithsonian museums present the story of America and the world as he would like to see it, rather than as it really is.
The president’s version of history portrays the U.S. as exceptional and great. He wants to whitewash flaws such as slavery and discrimination against Black Americans, confiscation of Native American lands in violation of treaty obligations, the unprovoked war against Mexico that conquered what is now the western U.S., the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, the denial of voting rights and other rights to women for much of our history — and more.
In an Aug. 12 letter to Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch, administration officials demanded a “comprehensive internal review” of eight Smithsonian museums by the White House “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.”
The review will cover current and planned museum exhibits, “with particular attention to those planned for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence” in 2026. It will also examine “websites, educational materials, and digital and social media content to assess tone, historical framing, and alignments with American ideals.”
The letter is a follow-up to an executive order Trump issued in March denouncing “a concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our nation’s history … as inherently racist, sexist, oppressive, or otherwise irredeemably flawed.” In the order, Trump said Vice President JD Vance would head an effort to “remove improper ideology” from all Smithsonian museums, research centers and the National Zoo.
What is an “improper ideology”? Apparently, whatever Trump says it is.
The administration’s letter calls for the museums to submit material documenting what is in their collections and says that, within 120 days, “museums should begin implementing content corrections where necessary, replacing divisive or ideologically driven language with unifying, historically accurate and constructive descriptions.”
We do not need this kind of Orwellian control by political appointees in government to determine how the Smithsonian museums should explain history, science and art. The museums are staffed by nonpartisan, career subject-matter experts.
Trump — who demands an end all diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives — has already shown he wants to distort American history by denying the existence of systemic racism and downplaying the injustice of slavery and its legacy.
Yet the National Museum of African American History and Culture is focused on telling the story of how racism has oppressed Black Americans, as well as highlighting the many achievements of Black people in government, education, science, business, entertainment, sports and other fields. It is a national treasure that tells a story all Americans should learn.
No president should be able to dictate to the African American museum — or any other museum — what it should exhibit.
In addition to politicizing what information is presented by some of the finest museums in the world, Trump’s interference in the Smithsonian sets a terrible and costly precedent. Will the museums have to spend millions of dollars redesigning their exhibits every time a new president takes office to meet an ideological purity test?
I agree with Trump that America is the greatest nation on Earth. I feel blessed to live here. But America is not and never has been perfect. No nation is.
The president has an incredibly long list of vital tasks to perform. Overseeing the exhibits at the Smithsonian museums in not one of them. We do not need a curator-in-chief sitting in the Oval Office.
A. Scott Bolden is an attorney, NewsNation contributor, former chair of the Washington, D.C. Democratic Party and a former New York state prosecutor.
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