Trump moves to curtail 'divisive narratives' featured in Smithsonian museums

President Donald Trump on Thursday night signed an executive order to curtail "divisive narratives" featured in Smithsonian museums in Washington, D.C.

The order comes one day after Trump announced plans to build a Women’s History Museum in Washington, D.C., on the National Mall. The museum will be one of 18 Smithsonian museums in the capital city. 

The president ordered Vice President JD Vance to lead efforts to remove content from Smithsonian museums that does not “remind Americans of our extraordinary heritage.”

The order also cites two specific examples of museums that feature exhibits that do not align with the administration's mission, including the American Art Museum and the National Museum of African American History and Culture. In the latter, an exhibit asserts that “individualism,” and “the nuclear family” are parts of “white culture."

"Once widely respected as a symbol of American excellence and a global icon of cultural achievement, the Smithsonian Institution has, in recent years, come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology," the order reads. “Museums in our Nation’s capital should be places where individuals go to learn — not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history."

The order also directs Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum to review whether any national monuments, statues, and memorial sites have been removed or altered during former President Joe Biden's administration that "perpetuate a false reconstruction of American history."

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.