2 days ago
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President Donald Trump is taking aim at the Smithsonian Institution, claiming a "concerted and widespread effort" to rewrite American history with "divisive narratives".
In an executive order titled "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History" signed on Thursday, Trump directed Vice President JD Vance to "eliminate improper, divisive, or anti-American ideology" from the institution.
The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education and research complex. It consists of 21 museums and the National Zoo. Eleven museums are located along the National Mall in Washington DC. Millions visit its institutions each year.
Trump alleges that over the past 10 years, objective facts have been replaced with a distorted, ideologically driven narrative. His order specifically targets funding for programs deemed to promote such narratives.
The Smithsonian, encompassing museums, research centers, educational programs, and even the National Zoo, will be under scrutiny.
Among the institutions specifically named in the order are the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the forthcoming Women's History Museum.
“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 said.
Representatives for the Smithsonian did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
The institution was established with funds from James Smithson, a British scientist who left his estate to the United States to found “at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.”
It comes after the Pentagon restored some webpages highlighting the crucial wartime contributions of Navajo Code Talkers and other Native American veterans, days after tribes condemned the action.
The initial removal was part of a sweep of any military content that promoted diversity, equity and inclusion, or commonly referred to as DEI
Following Trump’s broader executive order ending the federal government’s DEI programs, the Defense Department deleted thousands of pages honoring contributions by women and minority groups. Department officials say the Navajo Code Talker material was erroneously erased.
