Demand Progress

The very independence of art, expression, speech, and dissent is on the line in Trump’s fight with the Smithsonian.

Since Trump’s March executive order directing the Smithsonian to rid its museums of so-called “divisive, race-centered ideology,”¹ staff and leaders at the Smithsonian have operated under fear, always questioning whether a decision could get them in trouble.² The situation has continued to escalate, with the White House declaring that there’s “no place for dangerous anti-American ideology in our government and institutions” and taking credit for the resignation of the director of the National Portrait Gallery.³

Trump also ranted that the Smithsonian focuses “too much on slavery” and is “OUT OF CONTROL.”⁴ He claimed that “big changes are being made at the Smithsonian.”⁵ Trump wants the Smithsonian to fully adopt his far-right ideology, and the leaders of the Smithsonian must fight back.

Sign the petition: Urge the Smithsonian to protect history. Reject Trump’s attempt to rewrite the historical record of America!

Responding to Trump’s threats, the founding director of The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian said, “It’s these kinds of interventions across the board — interventions on the part of this branch of the government — that are inconsistent with what I think the United States of America is as a constitutional republic.”⁶

One historian called the White House’s review of the Smithsonian, “a full assault on the autonomy of all the different branches of the institution.”⁷ Another historian said it’s Trump’s attempt to “put his stamp on the way we tell the story of America.”⁸

Trump’s battle to exert power and influence over every aspect of society is playing out in the nation’s premier museums. Big Tech, media corporations, universities, and big law firms have all given into Trump’s authoritarian regime, but we can’t let this continue. The Smithsonian must protect history and stand up to Trump.

Sign the petition: Tell the Smithsonian to preserve history and resist Trump’s threats!

Sources:

1. The White House Executive Orders, “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” August 27, 2025.
2. Vanity Fair, “Inside the Battle for The Smithsonian,” September 29, 2025.
3. Ibid.
4. Reuters, "Trump targets the Smithsonian again, says it focuses too much on how bad slavery was,” August 20, 2025.
5. NBC News, "Trump had a ‘little problem with the Smithsonian’,” September 8, 2025.
6. Vanity Fair, “Inside the Battle for The Smithsonian,” September 29, 2025.
7. The New York Times, "White House Announces Comprehensive Review of Smithsonian Exhibitions,” August 12, 2025.
8. Democracy Now, "“Whitewashing of History”: Harvard Historian on Trump’s Targeting of School Curricula, Smithsonian,” August 18, 2025.