Trump Condemns Museum Slavery Exhibits as "Woke," Seeks Greater Control Over Cultural Institutions. During his second term, President Trump launched a review of Smithsonian and other museums, targeting exhibits deemed overly critical of American history, including those detailing the horrors of slavery. He labeled these displays as the "last remaining segment of 'woke'" and vowed to replicate similar reviews conducted on colleges and universities, potentially impacting federal funding. This action follows earlier White House directives to remove "negative" content from national parks, sparking widespread controversy
Trump Orders Review of Museums for "Woke" Content: Smithsonian Under Fire. Following reports of a White House review, President Trump announced he's instructed lawyers to investigate nationwide museums, including the Smithsonian, for "woke" material, citing negative portrayals of American history and slavery. This action mirrors his efforts to control funding for universities deemed ideologically non-compliant
“Everything discussed is how horrible our Country is, how bad Slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been,” Trump wrote.
Trump’s statement follows reports earlier this month that the administration was conducting a review of the Smithsonian Institution “to restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions,” according to a letter White House officials sent to Smithsonian secretary Lonnie Bunch, NBC News reported.
Trump said Tuesday he’s instructed his attorneys to conduct “the exact same process that has been done with Colleges and Universities,” referring to his efforts to revoke federal funding at schools that don’t adhere to his ideological directives.
Trump Administration's National Park Content Purge Backfires: Following a May 20 order to remove "negative" content from national parks, a public feedback initiative was met with an overwhelmingly positive response, contradicting the administration's aims to promote a solely celebratory narrative of American history. This action, part of a broader effort to control the historical narrative in federal institutions, sparked significant backlash from conservation groups
The Smithsonian revised an exhibit about Trump’s impeachments with less critical language. The new placards at the Museum of American History, placed earlier this month, add the word “alleged” in a description of the allegations against Trump in his first impeachment and scrub mention of the Jan. 6 Capitol riots in the description of his second impeachment.
Trump issued an executive order in March titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” that calls for the removal of “improper ideology” at the Smithsonian and National Zoo. In the subsequent letter sent earlier this month to Bunch, the White House instructed the Smithsonian—which includes 21 museums, 14 education and research centers and the National Zoo—to “begin implementing content corrections” within 120 days, warning “on-site observational visits” from White House officials would follow. Trump has also targeted the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in his war against “woke culture,” installing himself as chairman and terminating multiple Biden-era board members.
Trump Takes Over Kennedy Center In War On ‘Woke’ Programming—Here’s What To Know (Forbes)
Trump’s Crackdown On ‘Negative’ History At National Monuments Faces Sabotage By Counter-Protest (Forbes)
‘Hamilton’ Cancels Kennedy Center Show Run In Protest Of Trump’s ‘Purge’ (Forbes)
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