The Smithsonian Institution, a vast complex of research centers, museums and galleries, is the latest culture target of President Trump’s executive orders.
The Trump Administration has been moving quickly to eliminate what it considers « woke ideology » from the country’s arts and culture institutions.
On Thursday, President Trump signed an executive order that targets two recipients of federal funds: The Smithsonian Institution, a vast collection of research centers, museums and galleries, including the Air & Space Museum and the American Art Museum; and the monuments and memorials overseen by the Department of the Interior.
What does the order say?
The order is called « Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History » and the White House says the goal is « revitalizing key cultural institutions and reversing the spread of divisive ideology. »
It says that the Smithsonian promotes « narratives that portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive. »
But Jim Grossman, the executive director of the American Historical Association, says, « It misrepresents the work of the Smithsonian, which is one of the great research institutions in the world. Arguing that the Smithsonian somehow misleads people, somehow is unpatriotic, somehow is saying things that are not true.
