Trump orders disclaimer signs at Smithsonian museums

Trump ordered signage warning visitors of inaccurate historical information at the Smithsonian.
The order follows a White House report accusing the Smithsonian of failing to highlight the constructive role of Christian belief.
Museum director Anthea Hartig stated the report does not fairly characterize the museum’s work.
Republican Tim Burchett stated the Smithsonian has become infected by woke ideology.
Trump fired the director of the National Portrait Gallery in May 2025.

US President Donald Trump has issued an executive order to install signage that warns visitors of inaccurate historical information inside the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington. The order calls on federal officials to install temporary signage on public walkways outside the building to notify visitors that the Museum exhibits should be renovated to reflect accurate information regarding America’s history. The move follows a White House report accusing the Smithsonian of failing to highlight the constructive role of Christian belief.

The report stated that white, male, and Christian Americans are regularly denigrated as the alleged embodiment of oppressive power structures. Museum director Anthea Hartig told politicians that while the White House report is under review, it does not fairly or accurately characterize the full body of work at the museum. Hartig highlighted museum displays including the desk on which Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence and Abraham Lincoln’s top hat from the night he was assassinated.

Republican congressman Tim Burchett stated he felt the Smithsonian has become infected by a woke ideology to highlight American oppression. Democrat Melanie Stansbury stated the administration has launched an unprecedented effort to interfere in how American history is told. Trump fired the director of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in May 2025.

Anthea Hartig, director of the National Museum of American History, shared, “We unwaveringly attest that it does not fairly or accurately characterize the full body of work at the museum.”

Melanie Stansbury, Democrat, shared, “This administration has launched an unprecedented effort to interfere in how American history is told, researched, interpreted, presented, and taught.”