The White House on Thursday released a list of Smithsonian exhibits and artwork it finds objectionable, amid President Donald Trump‘s criticism of the institution as being too “woke.”
The list, published with the headline “President Trump Is Right About the Smithsonian,” highlighted materials about topics such as race, slavery, immigration and transgender identity at seven museums.
White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told Newsweek, “As President Trump promised, the Trump Administration is committed to rooting out Woke and divisive ideology in our government and institutions.”
In a previous statement to Newsweek, the Smithsonian said its work was “grounded in a deep commitment to scholarly excellence, rigorous research, and the accurate, factual presentation of history.”
Newsweek contacted the White House and the Smithsonian for further comment via emails sent outside regular business hours.
Why It Matters
The White House last week announced a wide-ranging review of the Smithsonian Institution, the latest effort by the president to bring the country’s cultural institutions in line with his vision.
In March, he signed an executive order titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” which accused the Smithsonian of coming under the influence of a “divisive, race-centered ideology” and sought to remove what it described as “improper ideology” from the institution’s museums.
Trump vowed again to make changes at the Smithsonian this week, saying in a Truth Social post that it was too focused on “how bad Slavery was” and that museums were “essentially, the last remaining segment of ‘WOKE.’”
What To Know
The list, which draws heavily from an article recently published by the Federalist, a conservative online magazine, mentions a series on white culture at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which the White House said was to educate people on “a society that privileges white people and whiteness.”
It criticized an infographic produced in 2020 as part of a “Talking About Race” portal that described aspects of “whiteness” as “hard work,” “rugged individualism” and “the nuclear family.” The museum removed the infographic and issued an apology following a backlash at the time.
The White House also objected to programming for the National Museum of the American Latino, a temporary gallery inside the National Museum of American History, saying it highlighted “animated Latinos and Latinas with disabilities”—with content from “a disabled, plus-sized actress” and an “ambulatory wheelchair user” who “educates on their identity being Latinx, LGBTQ+, and disabled.’”
Other examples listed include the “Intersex-Inclusive Progress Pride flag” being flown at the National Museum of American History’s entrance and the museum’s “LGBTQ+ History” exhibit.
The list criticized the museum’s exhibit about Benjamin Franklin, accusing it of focusing “almost solely on slavery,” and the museum’s temporary exhibit marking the 50th anniversary of Title IX, which the White House said “includes biological men competing in women’s sports and argues in favor of ‘transgender’ athletes competing in sports against the opposite biological sex.”
It also cited the National Portrait Gallery’s display of art, including Rigoberto A. González’s painting Refugees Crossing the Border Wall Into South Texas, saying it commemorates the “act of illegally crossing the ‘inclusive and exclusionary’ southern border.” It also listed the gallery’s display of Hugo Crosthwaite’s stop-motion animation of Dr. Anthony Fauci, the infectious disease expert who advised Trump on how to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
What People Are Saying
White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told Newsweek: “Taxpayer money should not be used for things that pit Americans against one another. Our Smithsonian should exhibit history in an accurate, honest, and factual way.”
President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday: “The Museums throughout Washington, but all over the Country are, essentially, the last remaining segment of ‘WOKE.’ 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. We are not going to allow this to happen, and I have instructed my attorneys to go through the Museums, and start the exact same process that has been done with Colleges and Universities where tremendous progress has been made.”
Lindsey Halligan, the White House official leading the review of the Smithsonian, said on Newsmax on Wednesday: “We just sent a letter to the Smithsonian asking for more information regarding their exhibits, their placards, to try get to the bottom of what happened and where the Smithsonian went wrong and try to make the Smithsonian amazing and great and live up to what the president wants the Smithsonian and D.C. to be.”
The Smithsonian previously said in a statement to Newsweek: “The Smithsonian’s work is grounded in a deep commitment to scholarly excellence, rigorous research, and the accurate, factual presentation of history. We are reviewing the letter with this commitment in mind and will continue to collaborate constructively with the White House, Congress, and our governing Board of Regents.”
What Happens Next
It remains to be seen what changes will come to the Smithsonian’s museums in response to the White House’s review.
In an August 12 letter to Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch, the White House said museums were expected to start making changes within 120 days and that the review could be completed in early 2026.
The post White House Releases List of Smithsonian Exhibits It Objects To appeared first on Newsweek.
