The Trump White House targeted the Smithsonian National Museum of American History (NMAH), arguing its pop culture exhibit had been overtaken by what it described as a “radical, activist ideology.”
The new report, titled “Saving America’s Story,” was released over the weekend, and claimed the museum has become “anti-white,” pro-“illegal alien” and “pro-transgender,” all while criticizing exhibits that focus on issues of race, gender and identity throughout American history.
Among the report’s chief targets was “Entertainment Nation,” the museum’s exhibition on American pop culture. While the gallery is best known for artifacts such as Dorothy’s ruby slippers from “The Wizard of Oz” and droids from “Star Wars,” the Trump White House focused on how the exhibit interprets the history of American entertainment.
The report criticized a display about Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Hamilton,” arguing it describes Alexander Hamilton as an “influential and flawed founding father” without properly including his contributions to the founding of America. The administration noted Hamilton was “a vocal critic of slavery and helped found the anti-slavery New York Manumission Society in 1785.”
The exhibit, however, explained that “Hamilton” used rap, hip-hop and nontraditional casting to make the country’s founding “accessible and relatable to audiences of color” and give more Americans “a sense of ownership of American history.”
The White House also objected to exhibit text discussing Mickey Mouse, P.T. Barnum’s circus, Wild West shows and ukuleles, arguing the museum interprets entertainment through race. It also criticized displays highlighting prominent LGBTQ figures.
The report additionally took issue with what it deemed to be “sexually suggestive material and other material inappropriate for young children,” citing displays that include drag performers, a 2003 Entertainment Weekly cover featuring the (Dixie) Chicks posed nude to protest the Iraq War and online exhibitions exploring LGBTQ history.
“No American wants the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History to be a system of ideological activism,” Vince Haley, director of the Domestic Policy Council, said. “Unfortunately, the report demonstrates that is exactly what the Smithsonian’s flagship museum has become. During this 250th anniversary year of our heroic founding, the least we owe our Founding Fathers is an honest and inspiring account of who they were, what they did, and what they built. It is our hope and expectation that the Smithsonian will eventually rise once again to that noble obligation—to tell America’s story for our children, the world, and future generations of Americans.”
A Smithsonian spokesperson defended the institution, saying in a statement: “For more than 180 years, the Smithsonian has served the American public with nonpartisan and independent scholarship, and we remain committed to doing so.”
The report followed President Trump’s March executive order, “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” which called for eliminating what the administration claimed was ideological bias from federally supported museums.
Unlike the Kennedy Center (which Trump reshaped earlier this year), the Smithsonian is set up in a different way. Secretary Lonnie Bunch, who has led the institution since 2019, was unanimously elected by the board. Its Board of Regents includes members of Congress and public appointees, including by not limited to Chief Justice John Roberts, and Vice President JD Vance.
