Trump signs order to post warning signs at Smithsonian museum over 'inaccurate' history exhibits
President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order directing warning signs to be placed outside the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, accusing it of 'inaccurate' portrayals of US history and telling officials to redirect visitors to alternative sources of information.
Trump orders warning signs at history museum
On July 24, 2026, President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled "Restoring Trust in the Smithsonian Institution," directing federal officials to post warning signage outside the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. The signs will alert visitors that, in the administration's view, the museum contains "inaccurate" portrayals of American history. The order also tasks the Department of the Interior with guiding the public to alternative locations where "accurate information regarding America's history" can be found, though no further details about those sources were provided.
The museum has veered 'toward extreme political activism, rooted in Marxism, to divide, dispirit, and discourage Americans.'
A months-long ideological assault
The move escalates an ongoing campaign against the Smithsonian, which Trump has long accused of pushing a left-wing agenda. In March, he issued a separate order requiring the institution to "eliminate improper, divisive, or anti-American ideology." Earlier this month, the White House Domestic Policy Council released a 162-page report that directly faulted Anthea M. Hartig, the museum's director, for what it termed "radical activist ideology" and argued that the museum "erases our heritage" while undermining "faith in American institutions." The report also criticized the museum for what it saw as insufficient celebration of the nation's founders on the 250th anniversary of independence on July 4.
- Trump issues order directing the Smithsonian to eliminate 'improper, divisive, or anti-American ideology.'
- White House Domestic Policy Council releases 162-page report accusing museum director Anthea Hartig of 'radical activist ideology.'
- Congressional committees grill Hartig, accusing the museum of teaching 'national self-loathing.'
- Trump signs 'Restoring Trust in the Smithsonian Institution' executive order mandating warning signs outside the museum.
Director grilled in Congress
Just prior to the order, Hartig appeared before two congressional committees where Republican lawmakers accused the museum of being "infected by a woke ideology" and of teaching "national self-loathing." Hartig defended her institution, asserting that its curatorial approach seeks to broaden, not replace, traditional narratives.
When historians talk about reframing a traditional narrative, we don't mean erasing it. We mean adding the evidence, the voices, the objects that earlier tellings left out so that more Americans can see themselves reflected in the national story.
She did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the executive order.
Museums under federal pressure
The Smithsonian Institution, chartered in 1846 and the world's largest research museum, operates 21 museums across Washington, D.C., Virginia, and New York, welcoming an estimated 15 million to 30 million visitors each year with free admission. It relies heavily on federal funding. Trump's order on Friday is the latest in a series of executive actions aimed at reshaping American cultural institutions, part of a broader purge of what the president calls "woke" ideology. Earlier this year, his administration dismantled diversity, equity, and inclusion programs across the federal government, moves that are now facing legal challenges. The Smithsonian declined to comment on Friday's order.
