President Trump directed the interior department Friday to install temporary signage at the National Museum of American History that will characterize the institution as inaccurate, intensifying his public campaign against the Smithsonian over how it presents American history.
The directive orders Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, working with the National Park Service and White House domestic policy adviser Vince Haley, to design signs for placement along the walkways and sidewalks leading to the museum. The order specifies that signage should notify visitors that exhibits require renovation and direct people to alternative sources for historical information.
A second requirement calls for additional signs criticizing the museum's handling of the Declaration of Independence during its 250th anniversary year, saying the institution has failed to commemorate it sufficiently.
The action reflects escalating friction between Trump and the Smithsonian, whom he and his allies accuse of skewing the narrative toward America's failures rather than celebrating foundational achievements and triumphs. The White House's domestic policy council released a report titled "Saving America's Story" that alleged the museum suffered "ideological capture" and had abandoned treating American history as shared national inheritance in favor of using it as a dividing political tool.
The museum's director, Anthea Hartig, defended her institution's approach during congressional hearings earlier this month, emphasizing that presenting the full American story, including moments when the nation fell short of its founding ideals, represents respect for citizens and commitment to progress. "We honor the declaration, the revolution, the constitution, our national symbols," she said. "And we tell the truth about the times that the country fell short of its own founding ideals."
Republican members of Congress expressed strong displeasure during those same hearings, objecting to what they characterized as inappropriate content and accusing museum leadership of promoting self-loathing.
The American Historical Association, representing professional historians nationwide, pushed back against the criticism, issuing a statement defending the Smithsonian's "commitment to scholarship and accuracy." The organization warned that "political interference in professional museum work threatens the accuracy of historical interpretation and erodes public trust in one of our nation's most important institutions."
Author James Rodriguez: "Posting government-mandated criticism signs at a museum transforms a policy disagreement into performative messaging, and signals that this administration views the nation's historical narrative as territory to be controlled rather than examined."
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