Executive order targets ‘truth and sanity’ in Smithsonian museums

People wait in line to enter the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Cultural on the National Mall in Washington. Pablo Martinez Monsivais/ap

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order aimed at “restoring truth and sanity to American history.”

The order calls out a “concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history,” which the White House said tries to paint the United States as “racist, sexist, oppressive, or otherwise irredeemably flawed.” This approach, it wrote, is a key priority for the Smithsonian museums.

“Once widely respected as a symbol of American excellence and a global icon of cultural achievement, the Smithsonian Institution has, in recent years, come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology,” the order reads. “Museums in our Nation’s capital should be places where individuals go to learn — not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history.”

The order, signed Thursday, directs Vice President JD Vance to work with Congress to “remove improper ideology” from the museums. These efforts, the order reads, must target displays and exhibits that “degrade shared American values.”

Several examples of unacceptable museum programs are listed in the order, such as recognizing women’s achievements without acknowledging men’s achievements, dividing the country based on race and promoting “ideologies inconsistent with Federal law.”

Also included in the order are instructions to examine whether the Biden administration had altered any national monuments, memorials or statues to push a “false reconstruction of American history.” Any instances of this must be corrected to “focus on the greatness of the achievements and progress of the American people.”

Reacting to the order was Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas.

“First Trump removes any reference of diversity from the present — now he’s trying to remove it from our history,” she wrote via X. “Let me be PERFECTLY clear — you cannot erase our past and you cannot stop us from fulfilling our future.”

Linda St. Thomas, the Smithsonian Institution’s chief spokesperson, said in an email late Thursday to the Associated Press, “We have no comment for now.”

The world’s largest museum, education and research complex, the Smithsonian Institution was established in 1846 and is made up of 21 museums, 14 education and research centers, and the National Zoo, according to its website. It was established by Congress with money from James Smithson, a British scientist who left his estate to the U.S. to create “an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.”

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