Smithsonian head says White House report unfairly characterized US history museum
Bunch said the museum remains committed to scholarship and nonpartisanship after the 162-page report accused it of ideological capture.
- Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III sent staff a memo on Tuesday defending the National Museum of American History, calling a White House report alleging "extreme political activism" an unfair characterization of the institution's work.
- The White House released a 162-page document on Saturday criticizing the museum for alleged political activism, serving as the catalyst for Bunch III's internal defense and the broader institutional response.
- A Smithsonian spokesperson stated that "For more than 180 years, the Smithsonian has served the American public" with nonpartisan and independent scholarship, reaffirming the institution's core commitment to those principles.
- The Organization of American Historians condemned the White House report as "part of an ongoing and multi-pronged assault" by the Trump administration against accurate, evidence-based history in American public life.
- Bunch III wrote that the Smithsonian "continue to review the report and its findings carefully," acknowledging room for improvement while remaining committed to excellence, reflection, and institutional growth.
19 Articles
19 Articles
'An attempt to turn back the clock': Woke historians melt down over exposé of Smithsonian's ideological rot
The White House's Domestic Policy Council dropped a 162-page report on Independence Day titled "Saving America's Story" that exposes the radicalism infecting the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History.The report highlighted various manifestations of "extreme political activism" under Director Anthea Hartig — from the NMAH's characterization of Mickey Mouse as a vestige of "blackface minstrelsy" to its propagation of a tool…
Smithsonian pushes back on Trump’s criticism of the American History museum
The Trump administration has opened a new front in its yearlong feud with Washington’s iconic Smithsonian Institution, the steward of 21 museums, the National Zoo and 14 research and education centers for 180 years.
Mickey Mouse ‘Blackface’ Label At Smithsonian Triggers Trump Review
President Donald Trump’s administration has reportedly spotlighted exhibit text at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History that links Mickey Mouse to blackface minstrelsy traditions. A White House report titled “Saving America’s Story,” released over the July 4 weekend, criticizes the museum’s “Entertainment Nation” exhibit for what it describes as activist framing of American pop culture. The report singles out a wall …
Historians Condemn Attack On "Woke" Smithsonian
The New York Times reports: On July 4, the White House posted a lengthy report condemning the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History, accusing it of promoting “extreme ideological activism” while denigrating the nation’s founders and its founding. Historians have started to reply with failing grades of their own. The Organization of American Historians, the nation’s largest group of scholars of U.S. history, blasted the re…
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