The Trump administration published a 162-page report accusing the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History of being run by radical activists, simply because the exhibits offer a nuanced depiction of American history rather than pure jingoism.
Honestly, I can’t think of a more on-brand way for the United States to celebrate its 250th birthday.
According to the New York Times, the report issued by the White House’s Domestic Policy Council is only the latest move in the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to reshape how U.S. history is told at national parks and museums. While the report accuses all of the nation’s parks and museums of failing to present a “patriotic” version of U.S. history, it focuses most of its ire on the National Museum of American History.
So basically, they’re mad that the Smithsonian museums have been telling an accurate, multidimensional version of American history and not just whitewashing the bad things.
The report says the museum “confronts visitors with materials intended to undermine faith in American institutions and the long-standing shared ideals of the American people.” The report goes on to say, “We must be committed to restoring truth and sanity in how American history is presented and taught.”
The report accuses the museum of transforming its mission “from straightforward historical education and scholarship toward an extreme political activism that seeks to transform our country.”
I love how acknowledging that “slavery was bad” and “the United States has a long history of racial tension and civil unrest” is what the Domestic Policy Council perceives as “extreme political activism.”
It’s wild how the Domestic Policy Council is acting like it’s concerned about faith in American institutions being undermined when President Donald Trump has spent much of the last decade working to undermine faith in elections. Hell, the dude’s catchphrase is “Make America Great Again,” which implies that America isn’t great already. I mean, under their logic, wouldn’t that be an example of “extreme political activism?”
It should come as no surprise that the Smithsonian has pushed back against the report’s accusations. “For more than 180 years, the Smithsonian has served the American public with nonpartisan and independent scholarship, and we remain committed to doing so,” Smithsonian spokesperson Julissa Marenco said in a statement.
It is also unsurprising that the Trump administration is trying to lay the groundwork to remove Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch, the first Black person to lead the institution, from his job. In an unrelated interview on Meet the Press on Sunday, Bunch detailed how the Smithsonian celebrates the aspirational ideal of the United States while also being honest about its history.
“I think what I want people to understand is that there is a responsibility to continue to make those aspirations available, accessible, meaningful to a whole range of people,” Bunch said. “And that, in essence, America’s greatest strength, it’s not running away from its history, but it’s understanding how that history shaped us and continues to shape us.”
Considering that the entire Trump administration is operating at a third-grade reading level (and that’s being generous), I shouldn’t be surprised that they’re offended at a nuanced, honest approach to the good and bad of U.S. history.
SEE ALSO:
Smithsonian Board Pushes Back Against Trump Administration
Preserving Native Voices: The Smithsonian National Museum Of The American Indian
