US President Donald Trump has criticised the nation’s museums for being “woke”, specifically targeting the Smithsonian Institution as “out of control”.
His latest condemnation of the Smithsonian comes after the Trump administration last week confirmed plans for a comprehensive review of the institution’s exhibitions, materials and operations ahead of the US’s 250th anniversary celebrations in 2026.
In a new 19 August post from Trump on his social media platform, Truth Social, he wrote: “The museums throughout Washington, but all over the country are, essentially, the last remaining segment of ‘WOKE’.
“The Smithsonian is OUT OF CONTROL, where everything discussed is how horrible our country is, how bad slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been – nothing about success, nothing about brightness, nothing about the future.”
In the post, Trump said his administration is “not going to allow this to happen”, adding that he has instructed his attorneys “to go through the museums, and start the exact same process that has been done with colleges and universities where tremendous progress has been made”.
Comprehensive review of Smithsonian content
The president wrote: “This country cannot be WOKE, because WOKE IS BROKE. We have the ‘HOTTEST’ country in the world, and we want people to talk about it, including in our museums.”
In June, the Smithsonian confirmed plans to conduct a content review across its 21 museums and zoo to comply with an executive order issued by Trump, which directed the removal of “improper, divisive, or anti-American ideology” from Smithsonian locations.
This came after the Smithsonian closed its diversity office to comply with another order issued by Trump that declared diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives to be “illegal and immoral discrimination programs”.
Earlier this month, the Smithsonian said it would once again include Trump’s two impeachments in an updated display after it removed references to his Senate trials.
Images courtesy of the Smithsonian
