Jillian Michaels Defends Donald Trump as CNN Debates Smithsonian Exhibit Review

CNN’s “NewsNight With Abby Phillip” became the stage for a dispute over President Donald Trump’s order for a review of the Smithsonian Institution’s exhibits, after Jillian Michaels argued that the effort is not “whitewashing slavery.”

“Iron ankle shackles that restrained African slaves on ships sailing the dreaded “Middle Passage”

Atlantic Council

Michaels pushed back on the reaction during Wednesday night’s edition, insisting, “[Trump’s] not whitewashing slavery,” and adding, “You cannot tie imperialism and racism and slavery just to one race, which is pretty much what every single [museum] exhibit does.”

Atlantic Council

The Trump administration’s directive, described as coming from a letter sent Tuesday to Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III, said the internal review aims to ensure exhibits “celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.”

People reported that the conversation began when Michaels joined a panel on CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip on Thursday, Aug. 14, as the show discussed Trump’s order and the Smithsonian review.

During the live panel, Abby Phillip told Michaels, “I’m surprised that you’re trying to litigate who was the beneficiary of slavery,” and asked, “In the context of American history, what are you saying is incorrect by saying that it was white people oppressing black people?”

Michaels responded by arguing, “Every single thing is like, ‘Oh, no, no, no, this is all because White people are bad,' and that's just not the truth,” and she later said, “Do you realize that only less than 2% of White Americans owned slaves? You realize that slavery is thousands of years old?”

CNN

After the segment aired, Michaels doubled down on X by showing a photo of a Smithsonian exhibit and writing, “Trump is not trying to 'erase slavery' by suggesting some of the instillations there are inaccurate and bias.”

TheWrap reported that viewers took to social media to blast Michaels and questioned why CNN would “even let Michaels appear on the program,” with CNN declining TheWrap’s request for comment.

In separate coverage of the Smithsonian’s political pressure, CNN described Lonnie Bunch III as having been at the center of a “political tempest” for over a year under President Donald Trump’s second administration, as the institution faced pressure to remove “woke” ideology.

““Every single thing is like, 'Oh, no, no, no, this is all because White people are bad,' and that's just not the truth," said Michaels Paul Archuleta/Getty Jillian Michaelsdoubled down on her thoughts on White people in a heated debate on live television about slavery, race, andthe Smithsonian Institution’s exhibits”

People

Bunch told CNN that the White House had not requested changes or updates, saying, “We wait to hear,” and he framed his approach as, “My goal is that history is driven by scholarship, not partisanship.”

CNN also reported that Bunch’s first exhibition since becoming secretary, titled “American Aspirations,” is on view beginning June 2 at the Smithsonian castle, and it includes objects such as the desk where Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence and a poster written by abolitionist Frederick Douglass.

In the Atlantic Council interview, Bunch said the role of a museum is “not just to look back, but to collect today for tomorrow,” and he described the NMAAHC as a 350,000-square-foot complex that opened its doors in September 2016.