Trump Orders for Smithsonian Museums to Remove All 'Divisive Narratives' and 'Improper Ideology' from Exhibits
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/national-museum-of-african-american-history-032825-a0851e11240f4478866204e91cf56219.jpg)
03/28/2025 03:03 PM
The executive order specifically names the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the American Women's History Museum as examples of facilities that divide Americans
Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty
The Collins Bible, photographed at the National Museum of African American History and Culture on April 28, 2022In his latest effort to wipe diverse perspectives from United States culture, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on March 27 that aims to "restore truth and sanity to American history."
In the order, Trump directs Vice President J.D. Vance — in his capacity as a member of the Smithsonian Institution's Board of Regents — to "remove improper ideology" from Smithsonian museums, research centers and the National Zoo.
"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 claims. "This shift has promoted narratives that portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive."
Trump's order specifically calls out the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the American Women's History Museum for featuring exhibits aimed at "ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history."
Additionally, he criticizes a current exhibit at the American Art Museum, titled "The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture," which describes itself as an exploration of how "sculpture has shaped and reflected attitudes and understandings about race in the United States."
In addition to removing any current "improper ideology," Trump's order also directs Vance and Russell Vought — a Project 2025 architect who now leads Trump's Office of Management and Budget — to ensure that future funds directed at the Smithsonian "prohibit expenditure on exhibits or programs that degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with Federal law and policy."
Evelyn Hockstein/For The Washington Post via Getty
The National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.In his latest order, Trump directs Vance to ensure that future Smithsonian contributions "celebrate the achievements of women in the American Women's History Museum and do not recognize men as women in any respect in the Museum," essentially forbidding the inclusion of trans women.
That move falls in line with one of his Jan. 20 executive orders, which vowed to only recognize two sexes — male and female — based on each person's designated sex at birth.
Related: Pentagon Plans to Expel Transgender Troops from Military in Expansion of Trump's Trans Service Ban
Similar to his recent takeover of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts board, Trump also asks his vice president to facilitate the "appointment of citizen members to the Smithsonian Board of Regents committed to advancing the policy of this order."
On Feb. 12, the president was elected the new chair of the Kennedy Center, after removing 18 Democratic appointees from the institution's board and ordering the new board members to vote for him. When asked for the reasoning behind his decision, Trump said he wants to "make sure it runs properly."
"We don't need woke at the Kennedy Center, and we don't need — some of the shows were terrible. They were a disgrace that they were even put on," he added. "So I'll be there until such time that it is running right."
When asked if he had ever seen a show there, the president responded, "No."
"I get reports they were so bad… I didn't want to go," he claimed. "There was nothing I wanted to see."
Related: J.D. Vance Booed at Kennedy Center Performance After Donald Trump Took Over Leadership
SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty
President Donald Trump gives a thumbs-up as he tours the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 21, 2017Trump's March 27 order features a similar level of hypocrisy. Back in 2017, he praised the National Museum of African American History and Culture after touring an exhibit titled "The Paradox of Liberty," as well as one dedicated to his then-nominee for housing and urban development secretary Dr. Ben Carson, who is still honored in the museum today.
"Honestly, it's fantastic," Trump said of the museum at the time. "I've learned, and I've seen, and they've done an incredible job."
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer.
In addition to targeting the Smithsonian, Trump's new order also hints at plans to possibly restore some of the country's monuments to Confederate leaders, a few of which were torn down amid the Black Lives Matter protests, which ramped up in earnest following the death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020.
Trump directs Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to "determine whether, since January 1, 2020, public monuments, memorials, statues, markers, or similar properties within the Department of the Interior's jurisdiction have been removed or changed to perpetuate a false reconstruction of American history, inappropriately minimize the value of certain historical events or figures, or include any other improper partisan ideology."
Burgum is also directed to take action to "reinstate" such monuments and memorials, and ensure properties with his department's purview "do not contain descriptions, depictions, or other content that inappropriately disparage Americans past or living (including persons living in colonial times), and instead focus on the greatness of the achievements and progress of the American people."
