A Trump Order Asked National Park Visitors to Flag 'Negative' Historical Info. They Had Other Ideas
More than half of 35,000 comments criticized the effort, and watchdogs documented at least 59 signs removed or changed.
- Last year, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum ordered national parks to remove exhibits deemed "negative" about Americans or failing to emphasize the nation's "beauty, grandeur, and abundance," following President Donald Trump's initiative on "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History."
- Burgum wrote that the order sought to restore sites to "solemn and uplifting public monuments" that remind Americans of the country's "extraordinary heritage" and "unmatched record of advancing liberty, prosperity, and human flourishing."
- The watchdog group Save Our Signs documented at least 59 modified or removed exhibits, including those referencing slavery and Native American history, while an Associated Press analysis of 35,000 public comments revealed significant backlash.
- Many visitors criticized the initiative, with one calling it a "fascist playbook" and another quipping, "Didn't see any Bigfeets" at North Cascades National Park, while others complained about specific signs in Virginia describing Booker as an architect of critical race theory.
- Legal challenges halted work at Philadelphia's Independence National Historical Park, where exhibits were restored under court order, while a Sierra Club lawsuit forced the Trump administration to release public feedback and remain vague about ongoing changes.
35 Articles
35 Articles
Associated Press News
A Trump order asked national park visitors to flag 'negative' historical info. They had other ideas
The Trump administration recently asked visitors to U.S. national parks to report displays or exhibits saying “negative” things about Americans and to restore sites as “uplifting public monuments."
NM national park visitors troll effort to nix anti-American signs
When the National Park Service solicited comments last year from national park and monument visitors for educational signs or historical markers that “inappropriately disparage Americans past or living,” the agency received hundreds of comments from those visiting a dozen such…
‘No Bigfoot here :/’: NM national park visitors troll Trump effort to nix anti-American signs
Visitors to New Mexico national parks and monuments, including White Sands National Park, pictured above, submitted more than 700 comments to the National Park Service opposing the federal effort to excise signage ‘disparaging’ to Americans living or dead, according to a new database. (Patrick Lohmann/Source NM)When the National Park Service solicited comments last year from national park and monument visitors for educational signs or historical…
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