President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered “inappropriate, division, or anti-American ideology” to be removed from the Smithsonian Association, a vast museum and research facility that is the premier exhibition space for American history and culture.
The Republican president in his executive order directed Vice President JD Vance to file a lawsuit.
The order also directs the Home Office to restore federal parks, monuments and monuments that “have been removed or changed over the past few years to perpetuate false revisions to history.”
The order, entitled “Restore Truth and Sanity in American History,” is ambiguous about what the president considers as an anti-American ideology. But that suggests that Trump is trying to wipe out elements of what conservatives see as a US revisionist history that places systemic racism at the heart of the story.
The order argues that African American history and culture museums are problematic and informs visitors that “difficulty,” “individualism,” and “nuclear family” are aspects of “white culture.”
The order also argues plans for the American Women's History Museum to celebrate male athletes participating in women's sports.
Chris Kleponis – Pool via CNP/Mega
The White House did not elaborate on the order, nor did either the Smithsonian or the African American History Museum respond to requests for comment.
The Smithsonian spans 21 museums, most of which are in the country's capital, lined with malls from the US Capitol to the Washington Monument, and includes the National Air and Space Museum, the American History Museum, the Hirschhorn Museum and the Sculpture Garden.
The Smithsonian states that the website is the world's largest museum, education and research complex, covering 14 educational and research centres and the National Zoo.
The order coincides with the Trump administration's efforts to abolish diversity and inclusion programs in government, universities and businesses.
Vance is a member of the Smithsonian committee.
According to Trump's orders, the Democratic Biden administration “pushed a divisive ideology that reconstructed the promotion of American freedom as fundamentally flawed, and transformed respected institutions like the Smithsonian and the National Parks with false narratives.”
Earlier this year, Trump chaired the Kennedy Center in Washington, indicating that he wants to leave a mark on American art and culture as part of his presidency.
Trump was a fierce critic of renaming or removing Confederate statues and monuments. Earlier this year, he restored two US military bases to the previous names of Fort Benning and Fort Bragg, despite federal laws banning generals who fought for the South during the Civil War. The administration says it honors individuals whose names are different, all former soldiers.
In 2017, Trump defended white nationalists in Charlottesville, Virginia, and protested the city's decision to remove a statue of Confederate Commander Robert E. Lee. At the time, he sparked widespread rage, saying there were “very wonderful people from both sides” of the fight.
