USA11 July, 20263 min read
Trump Orders Smithsonian Museums To Remove Anti-American Ideology Ahead Of 250th Anniversary
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White House released a 162-page report accusing Smithsonian of radical activism. Trump ordered a comprehensive review of Smithsonian museums before the 250th anniversary.
Smithsonian review and order
President Donald Trump said the Smithsonian is "FUERA DE CONTROL" and that he had instructed his lawyers to review Smithsonian museums as the U.S. prepares to celebrate 250 years of the country.
In a March 27 executive order titled "Restaurando la verdad y la cordura en la historia estadounidense," Trump directed Vice President J.D. Vance, as a member of the Smithsonian board, to remove "ideología impropia, divisiva o anti-americana" from Smithsonian spaces.
The order also bars federal funds from being used in programs or exhibitions that "degraden los valores compartidos de EE.UU., "dividan a los estadounidenses por raza" or promote ideologies contrary to federal law.
RFI says the review will focus on eight museums, including the El Museo Nacional de Historia y Cultura Afroamericana, El Museo Nacional de Historia Americana, El Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, El Museo Nacional del Indio Americano, El Museo de Arte Americano del Smithsonian, El Museo Nacional del Aire y el Espacio, la Galería Nacional de Retratos, and El Museo Hirshhorn y El Jardín de Esculturas.
ABC News reported that Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch disputed a White House report accusing the National Museum of American History of presenting a "radical view" of American history and said leadership is "carefully" reviewing the report's findings.
Philadelphia panels removed
In Philadelphia, the National Park Service removed an exhibit about slavery at Independence National Historical Park after Trump’s executive order prompted a review of interpretive materials across museums, parks, and historic sites. Univision reports that workers dismantled informational panels on the brick walls of the site where the presidential residence stood, where George and Martha Washington lived alongside enslaved people. The removed exhibit, located at the President's House Site within the historic park, included the names and biographical details of the nine enslaved people who lived and worked there during George Washington's presidency.
Univision says the City of Philadelphia filed on Thursday a lawsuit against the Department of the Interior and its secretary, Doug Burgum, seeking to prevent the removal of the panels from becoming permanent. The Department of the Interior said the measure responds to the executive order titled Restore Truth and Sanity in American History, and Univision quotes Elizabeth Peace saying the National Park Service is taking steps to remove or modify interpretive materials in accordance with the order.
Peace council and war powers
Separately from the Smithsonian review, BBC News Mundo described Trump’s creation of a "Conseil de paix" that it says entered into force and became an official international organization. BBC reports that at a signature ceremony in Davos, Trump said, "Cela fonctionne à merveille... presque tous les pays veulent en faire partie," and that the peace council would work with the United Nations. BBC says the council was initially designed to help end a two-year war between Israel and the Hamas in Gaza and to supervise reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, and it also describes a "Conseil exécutif de Gaza" to oversee work on the ground.
In the same U.S. political orbit, Le Club des Juristes focused on war powers and cited Pete Hegseth saying, "L'ordre que nous avons reçu de notre commandant en chef était précise, claire et sans ambiguïté." It also described a bipartisan War Powers Resolution introduced in the House to remove U.S. armed forces from hostilities not authorized against Iran and to order Trump to "end" the deployment without an authorized declaration of war or specific authorization to use military force against Iran.