They Want a National Museum of Revisionist History
Defending the Smithsonian from the convicted felon's attempt to rewrite and censor American history.
For nearly two centuries, the Smithsonian Institution has preserved America’s story in all its richness—the inspiring, the uncomfortable, and the true. Now it’s under assault from a racist convicted felon who would rather rewrite history than face it.
The White House’s stated wish is that the Smithsonian “reflect the unity, progress, and enduring values that define the American story.” That sounds lofty, but the March 2025 executive order behind it makes the real goal clear: censorship. It requires a “comprehensive internal review” of eight Smithsonian museums—the National Museum of American History, the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the National Museum of the American Indian, the National Air and Space Museum, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.
The order demands scrutiny of all public-facing content—exhibition text, websites, social media—“to assess tone, historical framing, and alignment with American ideals.” Translation: strip away anything that doesn’t fit the xenophobic administration’s definition of “unity.” In practice, that means targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion—the very principles that make these museums relevant, vibrant, and truthful.
Consequences for America’s Story
This review will not restore confidence in our institutions. It will destroy it. The Smithsonian is one of the few places where Americans and visitors alike trust they are seeing history preserved as it happened, not as the powerful want it remembered. To impose propaganda on these museums is to vandalize their credibility.
Consider what’s at stake:
Erasing hard truths: Will the American History Museum be forced to whitewash slavery, downplay segregation, or remove artifacts from January 6? No matter what the felon and his allies may believe, January 6 happened. It was a domestic terrorist attack on the U.S. Capitol, the bedrock of our democracy.
Silencing representation: The National Museum of African American History and Culture is already under pressure, with reports of donors quietly being asked to reclaim items. The National Museum of the American Latino and the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum—authorized in 2020 but not yet built—are obvious future targets, since their very missions contradict this administration’s agenda.
Diluting inclusivity: Entertainment Nation, the first Smithsonian exhibit devoted to entertainment history, is also its largest long-term bilingual exhibition. Will every Spanish-language caption be stripped out to satisfy the administration’s hostility toward multicultural America?
These are not abstract hypotheticals. They are the logical consequences of an executive order written by people who would rather destroy institutions than admit the truth of America’s past.
Betraying the Smithsonian’s Mission
The Smithsonian Institution was founded in 1846 with a clear mission: “the increase and diffusion of knowledge.” That charge came directly from James Smithson’s will, a gift to the American people. What this administration proposes is nothing less than a betrayal of that mission.
Smithsonian leaders understand the stakes. In 2022, Anthea M. Hartig, director of the National Museum of American History, explained why the museum was preserving artifacts from the January 6 insurrection:
“The Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, and on the foundation of the United States’ democratic republic, revealed the fragility of our political system. As the nation’s flagship history museum, our staff is committed to documenting and, most importantly, preserving this history for future generations to understand how the events of that fraught day unfolded and to track their ongoing impacts.”
That is what real stewardship of history looks like. To erase, distort, or censor that work is to rip pages out of America’s storybook.
Revisionism Masquerading as Patriotism
The felon and the Project 2025 writers want Americans to live in a country where revisionist history is the rule of law. They talk about “American exceptionalism,” but what they mean is a false, hollow version of patriotism—one that denies slavery, minimizes racism, and silences women and minorities.
But history is not always comfortable. Nor should it be. Our nation is strongest when it confronts its failures honestly, not when it hides them behind curated myths. America does not need a National Museum of Revisionist History. It needs the Smithsonian—unfiltered, unvarnished, and unafraid.
A Warning Before America Turns 250
Next July, the United States will mark its 250th birthday. It should be a moment to celebrate, reflect, and honor the complexity of our history. Instead, this administration is laying the groundwork to distort that anniversary into a pageant of propaganda.
Americans deserve better. We deserve institutions that reflect the full truth of our past, not a cherry-picked fantasy. We deserve museums that teach our children the lessons of democracy, not tools of authoritarian indoctrination.
The Smithsonian Belongs to the People
The Smithsonian does not belong to one man, one administration, or one political ideology. It belongs to the American people—to all of us. To censor it is to betray us.
If this White House wants to live in an alternate reality, that’s their choice. But they cannot force the rest of us to do the same. Our museums are not their playground. Our history is not their propaganda. And our democracy is not theirs to rewrite.
As Americans, we must defend the Smithsonian. Not just because it safeguards our artifacts, but because it safeguards our truth.