American universities and museums are home to some of the world’s leading historians. They also have their fair share of skilled archaeologists and curators. But Trump despises them and claims they don’t tell America’s story the right way. Above all, he dislikes narratives and presentations that clash with the MAGA movement’s twisted ideology. Even worse if they portray Trump himself in a negative light.
Now he wants to restore the “truth” about the nation’s past. Most people should be aware that Hitler, Stalin, and Mao took similar approaches.
An important step was taken in March, when he issued a presidential order with the telling title: “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.” In it, he ordered the Smithsonian, a well-known museum in Washington, and other affiliated institutions to review their exhibitions to ensure they promote “patriotic values” and avoid “ideological and divisive” language.
“Take action to reinstate the pre-existing monuments, memorials, statues, markers, or similar properties,” the order read.
Trump is, to put it mildly, skeptical of stories that cast doubt on America’s much-celebrated history. That’s why he wants to downplay the darker chapters and highlight the brighter ones. That means less attention to slavery and the oppression of African Americans. The same goes for the treatment of Latino Americans and the abuses committed against Indigenous peoples.
The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum complex and a symbol of American intellectual and commemorative culture. The institution is named after its founder, the Briton James Smithson, and was established as early as 1846. Its main building, with its towering spires, is often referred to as “The Castle.”
Today, the Smithsonian consists of 21 museums, 21 libraries, and a large number of research departments spread across the country. Millions of people visit them every year.
The federal government funds two-thirds of the Smithsonian’s budget. The institution’s leaders therefore began to quake in their boots when Trump issued his executive order. Under pressure from the White House, several board members were forced to resign.
Now the Smithsonian has a board with a conservative majority. The results are visible to the naked eye. While the summer heat has blanketed Washington like a suffocating fog, the institution’s staff have been busy removing old busts and statues. They have also—on orders from the White House—removed an unflattering reference to the president himself.
It so happened that the National Museum of American History, a subunit of the Smithsonian, had created a visual presentation of presidents who had been impeached—in practice, Andrew Johnson (1868), Bill Clinton (1998), and Donald Trump (2019 and 2021). Trump’s name has now been erased. The Smithsonian explained the change by stating that the exhibit would be “updated in its entirety” at a later date.
But critics aren’t buying it, and controversy has erupted.
“This isn’t maintenance; it’s political erasure,” wrote a commentator in the respected magazine The Atlantic.
Trump’s right-hand man, Vice President J.D. Vance, has been tasked with coordinating the new offensive. Over the past few months, Vance has been busy pressuring museum directors. Those who resisted have been replaced. That includes Kim Sajet, director of the National Portrait Gallery, who stepped down in June following what was described as “a prolonged process initiated by the White House.”
Author George Orwell is remembered for his novel 1984, in which the faceless employees of the Ministry of Truth were busy rewriting the past. “Who controls the past controls the future,” the reasoning went.
Trump’s attempt to dictate the work of historians is a disturbing reminder of this logic. That he’s attacking the nation’s most prestigious knowledge institution makes it all the more serious. Museums are not merely storage rooms for artifacts—they are temples of historical narrative.
Fortunately, the backlash was not long in coming. The American Historical Association (AHA), with thousands of members, has sent a sharp protest letter to the White House. So has the Organization of American Historians (OAH). Both stress that academic institutions must remain independent and not serve specific political agendas.
“The Smithsonian’s mission is to present history in all its complexity—not to flatter the powerful,” noted the OAH.
Smithsonian board chair Lonnie G. Bunch has promised to safeguard the institution’s scholarly independence. But the pressure is intense, and federal funding is increasingly tied to political loyalty. This leads many to ask: Will future visitors see the whole story—or just parts of it?
“The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind,” sang Bob Dylan. And the answer still blows in the wind, for Trump is only seven months into his term—seven of a possible forty-eight. Along the way, he will likely win many individual battles, but not the war, say the hopeful.
Still, he may inflict great damage on historical storytelling, since he has chosen to attack on a broad front. His grip on the federal purse strings has already become a powerful weapon in his campaign to resurrect “the truth.” Faced with the threat of unemployment and financial ruin, many individuals and institutions may feel forced to comply.
Last year, the Smithsonian received nearly $1.1 billion in federal funding—money allocated by Congress for operations, research, and public programming. This accounted for 63 percent of the institution’s operating budget. Many other knowledge institutions face similar risks.
The states also have tools to further Trump’s agenda. A majority of them (27 out of 50) are governed by Republicans. Responsibility for schools and universities, including curricula, lies primarily with the states—not the federal government.
That means state governments can support Trump’s agenda by imposing specific requirements on how history is taught. Several are already doing so—such as the governments of Florida, Texas, Idaho, and Tennessee. All have passed laws that ban or restrict teaching of critical race theory, a field that examines how racism is systemically embedded. Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, for his part, has implemented curricula designed to promote “patriotism and American exceptionalism.”
Now, millions of young Americans are facing a new school year, and at the Smithsonian, the summer purge is complete.
In any case, the last word has not been said.
