Trump orders warning signs outside Smithsonian to claim national museum ‘does not present American history’

President Donald Trump has ordered that the Smithsonian Museum of American History post signs telling visitors its exhibits are presenting inaccurate information. Trump issued an executive order on Friday ordering that the "warning" signs be placed in front of the museum informing visitors that they are about to be subjected to "inaccurate information presented in the Museum." The decision comes on the heels of a July 4 report from the White House that ruled the Smithsonian “cannot be trusted to tell America’s story honestly and in a way that is inspiring, unifying, and worthy of our great republic.”

“Smithsonian leadership does not present American history as a shared national inheritance to be taught and celebrated, but instead views American history as a ‘prime tool’ to advance ideas of social justice and the radical transformation of our society,” Trump wrote in the executive order. Trump has reportedly tasked his Interior Secretary, Dough Burgum, to install the signs on "sidewalks and walkways used by the public to access the Museum." The Smithsonian Museum of American History in Washington, D.

C. The Trump administration has ordered signs be posted outside the museum telling visitors that the exhibits inside are inaccurate (Reuters)The signs will reportedly not only warn visitors against the Smithsonian, but also correct “inaccurate information presented in the Museum” and point readers to “locations and resources for accurate information regarding America’s history.”The Smithsonian's Secretary Lonnie Bunch told NBC News that he believes White House report “is not a fair characterization of the work and totality of the National Museum of American History," adding that the institution's work is "driven by scholarship, accuracy and an uncompromising commitment to tell the fullness of America’s story."

Trump's signs disparaging the Smithsonian are only the latest in his efforts to repaint American history in MAGA colors. In 2025, Trump issued an executive order aimed at restoring "truth and sanity to American history." The order directs federal officials to scrub national parks and federally-managed lands of any suggestion that the U.

S. has ever been "inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive." NPS workers had to pore over every sign and brochure and watch every film produced by the parks to ensure they were ideologically in-line with Trump's wishes.

Disqualifying language included anything that "inappropriately disparages" Americans or any information "unrelated to the beautify, abundance, and grandeur of the American landscape." The topics that were flagged for review by the Trump administration most frequently involved Native American history, slavery, the climate crisis, Black history, and the civil rights movement, according to a Guardian analysis of the materials. George Washington's home in Philadelphia is one of exhibits affected by the order.

A slavery memorial was installed at the site — where Washington enslaved nine people — but was ordered removed under Trump's executive orders. The city of Philadelphia sued to have the memorial returned. In July, the NPS installed new informational panels at the slavery memorial while the lawsuit is litigated, but advocates claim the new panels minimize slavery to protect Washington's image.

The U.S. military has also been targeted for ideological cleansing under Trump.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth barred military members from using any official resources to celebrate Black History Month, Women's History Month, and Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and barred any "instruction on Critical Race Theory, DEI, or gender ideology." Schools on military bases were also instructed, per Trump's ideological purity test, to remove hundreds of books from their libraries because they promoted "gender ideology and discriminatory equity ideology."In October 2025 a federal judge ruled against Trump's order and demanded that the books be returned.

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