The Smithsonian National Museum in Washington, D.C. has scrapped references to President Donald Trump in an exhibit dedicated to presidential impeachments — at least for now.
The revamped exhibit, which was first reported by the Washington Post on Thursday, removed a “temporary label” about Trump’s two impeachments that had been there since September 2021. The move came amid White House pressure after Trump’s executive order in March demanding the removal of “anti-American ideology” from Smithsonian museums.
Now, the exhibit only goes up to 2008, and includes a note saying “only three presidents have seriously faced removal” — without mentioning which presidents it is referring to specifically. Three presidents — Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton, and Trump — have been formally impeached, while Richard Nixon resigned in 1974 amid a looming impeachment.
“In reviewing our legacy content recently, it became clear that the ‘Limits of Presidential Power’ section in The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden exhibition needed to be addressed,” a Smithsonian spokesperson told the Post.
The spokesperson added: “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.”
The Post noted the blog accompanying the Smithsonian’s exhibit “briefly mentions Trump’s impeachments,” without offering much detail. The museum’s website also includes 125 impeachment-related references to Johnson, Nixon and Clinton and one for the president.
After the outlet’s story ran on Thursday, a Smithsonian rep said “a future and updated exhibit will include all impeachments.” So if you are visiting the museum to read about Trump’s two impeachments, from 2019 and 2021, hang tight.
White House spokesperson Davis Ingle, meanwhile, said in a statement to media that the Smithsonian has “highlighted divisive DEI exhibits which are out of touch with mainstream America” for too long.
“We are fully supportive of updating displays to highlight American greatness,” he said, but did not address the missing reference to Trump’s impeachments.
