The White House has released a report criticising the Smithsonian's leadership and accusing the institution of "extreme political activism".
Titled 'Saving America's Story', the 162-page report was released on 4 July by the White House Domestic Policy Council and is part of the Trump administration's ongoing review of the Smithsonian.
It focuses in particular on the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, arguing that "ideological capture" at the museum "erases our heritage".
The report states that "this ideological capture has moved the museum’s mission away from straightforward historical education and scholarship toward an extreme political activism that seeks to transform our country".
The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History tells a full and complex history of the United States
It goes on to accuse the museum of "anti-white activism", "illegal alien activism", and "transgender activism".
The report says: "The serious concerns raised in this report are not about a few exhibits or a few controversial labels."
It adds: "The report concludes that the Smithsonian Institution, and the National Museum of American History in particular, under its current leadership and current interpretive ideology, cannot be trusted to tell America’s story honestly and in a way that is inspiring, unifying, and worthy of our great republic."
In response to the report, a spokesperson for the Smithsonian said: "For more than 180 years, the Smithsonian has served the American public with nonpartisan and independent scholarship, and we remain committed to doing so."
White House review of the Smithsonian
The report has been released amid an ongoing White House review of the Smithsonian's exhibitions, materials, and operations.
The Smithsonian is also conducting its own content review to comply with an executive order issued by President Donald 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”.
Images courtesy of the Smithsonian
