President Trump complains 'woke' Smithsonian is too focused on 'how bad slavery was'https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/president-trump-complains-woke-smithsonian-is-too-focused-on-how-bad-slavery-was/ar-AA1KPauO?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=127137ca5cac49b7e78ae01478093941&ei=43Story by Joey Garrison, USA TODAY (19 Aug 2025)
WASHINGTON − President Donald Trump said the Smithsonian museums in Washington are too fixated on "how bad slavery was" and other negative aspects of United States history as he promised to take aim at the "WOKE" elements inside them.
Trump's remarks, made in an Aug. 19 social media post on Truth Social, came after he last week launched a review of the Smithsonian Institution and its 21 museums to remove "divisive or partisan" elements and determine whether its materials conformed to the Trump administration's views on teaching history.
Trump's review is set to intially focus on eight Smithsonian museums. The list includes the National Museum of African American History and Culture, as well as the National Museum of American History; National Museum of Natural History; National Museum of the American Indian; National Air and Space Museum; Smithsonian American Art Museum; the National Portrait Gallery; and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.
White House officials announced the review in an Aug. 12 letter to Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch III, writing that the initiative aims to "ensure alignment with the President's directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions."
The letter stated that within 120 days, the Smithsonian is expected to begin making "content corrections where necessary, replacing divisive or ideologically driven language with unifying, historically accurate, and constructive descriptions."
