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CBS host Tony Dokoupil agreed Wednesday with President Donald Trump’s push to have the Smithsonian Institution review how it presents American history.
During a “CBS Mornings” segment, Dokoupil defended Trump’s directive for Smithsonian museums in Washington, D.C., to stop focusing on the sins of America’s past and portray the country’s history in a more positive light.
“American history shouldn’t be a thing of reverence. The country is not above critique,” Dokoupil said. “But we shouldn’t look at our history with contempt, either. And there is some room for correction back toward the middle.”
Trump criticized how the Smithsonian has presented American history across its various museums in recent years in a Truth Social post Tuesday, accusing the institute of pushing a “woke” agenda that fixates on the darker parts of America’s past.
“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,” he said.
Trump added, “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.”
The White House issued a letter to the Smithsonian on Aug. 12 ordering it to conduct an internal review of its exhibits to ensure that they align with the “President’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions” ahead of the country’s 250th birthday celebrations next year.
Dokoupil argued that the words in the letter to the Smithsonian were similar to the current mission statement of the institution itself.
“The mission of the Smithsonian is to forge a shared history, a shared future, not just context, but hope to lead the country and communities together. That’s essentially what Donald Trump is offering here,” the morning show host continued.
He added that Americans deserve to feel proud of their country’s history, and that their museums should foster that feeling for all visitors.
“If you ask someone, is the world and its people better off because of the existence of America and its people? To me, the answer is unquestionably yes. And I think people walking in the Smithsonian — when they walk out of it, they should get some sense of that.”
Co-host Vladimir Duthiers King pushed back, saying, “We don’t have to whitewash who we are and where we came from.”
“I agree,” Gayle King responded.
King added that she doesn’t believe that what Trump has deemed to be a “woke” presentation of U.S. history is “an overcorrection,” saying it is just presenting “the history that’s all part of who we are.”
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