The Trump administration has spent months trying to force the Smithsonian Institution into ideological alignment, including threatening to cut off its federal support. In July, Trump signed an executive order directing the National Park Service to install signs on the walkways outside the National Museum of American History. The signs would tell visitors that the museum’s exhibits are inaccurate and direct them elsewhere for “accurate information.” Now the Interior Department is moving to put them up.
As The New Republic explains:
According to reporting by The Atlantic, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum is mobilizing the National Park Service to display at least a dozen signs around the National Museum of American History warning visitors of “ideologies that distract from a coherent and accurate presentation of America’s story” before they step foot on the premises. The signs are projected to cost at least $84,000. ... When he announced the signs to Senators Jeff Merkley and Lisa Murkowski, Burgum said that the “informational signage therefore will provide visitors with important context about the exhibits they are about to encounter and the personal viewpoints that the curators of the exhibits are seeking to advance.” “We believe the public should enter the museum fully equipped with the information needed to evaluate whether to invest their time in viewing these exhibits and programming,” he wrote in a letter to the senators.
It is not yet clear what exactly the “information needed” will be. The text of the signs or the plans for their physical structure is still undetermined, but [Burgum’s] letter suggests direct attacks on Smithsonian leaders, including [Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie] Bunch and museum director Anthea Hartig.
The letter makes those attacks explicit. “Visitors should be aware of Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch’s history of invidious discrimination and anti-white animus,” it reads. Bunch, the founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, announced on September 8 that he will retire at the end of the year, though he says the administration’s pressure did not influence his decision.
Rewriting history to suit those in power and appease dominant groups is a staple of the authoritarian playbook. Trump calls it “restoring trust.” In practice, it means spreading regime propaganda.
The Executive Watch is a project of the Institute for the Study of Modern Authoritarianism, and its flagship publication The UnPopulist, to track in an ongoing way the abuses of the power of the American presidency. It sorts these abuses into five categories: Personal Grift, Political Corruption, Presidential Retribution, Power Consolidation, and Policy Illegality. Click the category of interest to get an overview of all the abuses under it.
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