“Genuinely scary”: Smithsonian accused of “rewriting history” after quietly removing Trump from impeachment exhibit
The Smithsonian has erased President Donald Trump’s two impeachments from its American History Museum display, and critics are calling it "Orwellian."
Earlier this summer, visitors to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History noticed a subtle but significant change. The impeachment section in the exhibit The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden had been quietly reverted to its pre-2008 version. Gone were any mentions of Donald Trump, America’s only twice-impeached leader. Now, the exhibit simply states that "only three presidents have seriously faced removal," referring to Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton.
According to sources familiar with the exhibit who spoke with the Washington Post, the Smithsonian made the change in July after pressure from the Trump White House. A spokesperson said the move was part of a broader review of "legacy content," which the museum had agreed to conduct, allegedly following political tension from the White House to remove Portrait Gallery director Kim Sajet earlier this year.
A spokesperson, talking about the exhibit, said, "The section of this exhibition covers Congress, the Supreme Court, Impeachment, and Public Opinion. Because the other topics in this section had not been updated since 2008, the decision was made to restore the Impeachment case back to its 2008 appearance."
While the museum’s online collection includes a single “Impeach Trump” protest button, there is little else referencing his two impeachments. The former display had acknowledged both: one in 2019 over abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, and another in 2021 for incitement of insurrection.
Online critics accuse the Smithsonian of bowing to political pressure
Although the Smithsonian insisted that revising a major gallery requires significant time and funding, many saw this as a convenient excuse. Especially since the same exhibit already features more recent items, including Trump and Biden inauguration pins and a complete wall of past presidents.
One viral tweet summed up the outrage online over this erasure of history. They tweeted, "When a history museum rewrites history to appease the president, it stops being a museum and starts being state propaganda. Straight-up Orwellian."
Critics pointed out that the museum’s decision came at a time of growing concern over Trump’s influence on cultural institutions. Since returning to office in January, he has made waves by reshaping and cutting funding for several national organizations, including attempting to oust the director of the National Portrait Gallery and gutting programs at the National Endowment for the Arts.
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