President Donald Trump has set his sights on the Smithsonian Institution, accusing Washington’s museums of being “woke” and promising reforms to scale back exhibits on LGBTQ+ history, slavery, race, and immigration.
On 19 August, Trump ranted on Truth Social that “the museums throughout Washington are the last remaining segment of WOKE” and claimed the Smithsonian — which oversees dozens of museums, libraries, and cultural centres — was “OUT OF CONTROL.”
“Everything discussed is how horrible our Country is, how bad Slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been,” he complained.
The president has now ordered his attorneys to review Smithsonian museums with the aim of replicating the process he has used to reshape colleges and universities.
The White House “evidence list”
Alongside Trump’s comments, the White House published a new article on its website titled “President Trump Is Right About the Smithsonian.” It itemises 22 exhibits, displays, artworks, and programs that the administration labels objectionable, many of which address sexuality, gender, race, or social justice.
Among the LGBTQ+-specific criticisms:
- The National Museum of American History “prominently displays the Intersex-Inclusive Progress Pride flag” at its entrance.
- The National Museum of the American Latino features content from a “disabled plus-size actress” who identifies as Latinx, LGBTQ+, and disabled.
- A former interim director of the American Women’s History Museum pledged it would be inclusive of trans women.
- The American History Museum’s LGBTQ+ history exhibit, which references diverse identities including “invert,” “urning,” “mahū,” “friend of Dorothy,” and “drag queen/king.”
- Articles addressing “LGBTQ+ inclusion and skateboarding” and the “rise of drag ball culture in the 1920s.”
The post also condemned a Title IX anniversary exhibit for supporting trans athletes, and flagged a painting depicting a transgender Statue of Liberty — despite the fact that the artwork was never displayed.
Broader attacks on racial history
Beyond LGBTQ+ inclusion, the White House’s list also disparages exhibits on America’s racial past and present, including displays about:
- The Texas Revolution’s ties to slavery.
- Pregnant women thrown overboard during the Middle Passage.
- Voting restrictions targeting marginalised communities.
- The nation’s colonial history and land theft from Indigenous peoples.
Accusations of censorship and bias
Critics have compared the administration’s attacks to authoritarian tactics. A Keene State College checklist of fascist traits includes opposition to institutions that promote diversity, as well as “disdain for intellectuals and the arts not aligned with the fascist narrative.”
Meanwhile, the Smithsonian has faced pushback from progressives as well. Artist Amy Sherald, best known for her official portrait of Michelle Obama, cancelled a show at the National Portrait Gallery over concerns about the handling of her painting Trans Forming Liberty, which depicts a transgender Statue of Liberty. Earlier this year, others accused the same gallery of downplaying the queer history of Felix González-Torres’s “Untitled (Portrait of Ross in L.A.),” which honoured the artist’s lover who died of AIDS-related illness.
With Trump now explicitly targeting the Smithsonian, the future of queer, racial, and progressive storytelling in America’s national museums hangs in the balance.
