Earlier this week, Trump escalated his attacks on the Smithsonian, along with several other museums in Washington, D.C. He claimed that the institution overemphasizes “how bad slavery was.” He called on the Secretary of the Smithsonian for a thorough review to ensure the elimination of so-called “anti-American ideology” from the Smithsonian and its subsidiary museums, research and education centers, and even the National Zoo. This includes any content addressing race, women’s achievements, and transgender people. This review will come in phases: the first phase will audit eight museums, including the National Museum of African American History and Culture. This follows the executive order he signed in March of this year, named “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” which calls for removing “divisive or partisan narratives” in the Smithsonian and ensuring that it celebrates “American exceptionalism.”
This attack comes alongside the Department of Education’s recent partnership with PragerU, a conservative media organization with a history of spreading misinformation about history and science while promoting harmful ideologies such as racism, sexism, and anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric. The collaboration produced an exhibit in the White House’s Founders Museum called “The Road to Liberty,” which features AI-generated videos about the Founding Fathers (many of whom were slaveholders and early capitalists) and their ideologies surrounding governance. These videos frame their vision of the country through the lens of settler colonialism and nationalism.
Additionally, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) announced it would shut down after being defunded by Congress by the 2025 Rescissions Act. The law pulled $1.1 billion in support from CPB, leading to its shutdown. Trump has previously attacked the CPB for promoting political and cultural views he deems anti-American. The CPB funds both NPR and PBS, as well as more than 1,500 local radio and television stations. Many of these local stations, especially in rural and economically disadvantaged areas, depend on CPB grants. Its elimination disproportionately impacts poor and working-class communities, deepening inequalities in access to education and information across the country.
Taken together, these actions represent a coordinated attempt by Trump and his administration to restrict the public’s access to information. It’s not just an effort to rewrite history, but also to control how current events are understood and remembered. The revision of history and the restriction of information go hand-in-hand: if we are denied knowledge of past struggles and victories, we are left disarmed in the face of injustice. This is a calculated tactic within a broader, multi-pronged effort to control public thought. Because they know if we can unite and fight back, we can win.
