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President Donald Trump on Friday ordered the National Park Service to install temporary warning signs outside the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, directing visitors to a White House report that claims the museum presents an inaccurate account of U.S. history.
The executive order requires the National Park Service, which oversees public walkways surrounding several Smithsonian museums along the National Mall, to post signs informing visitors that exhibits at the National Museum of American History “should be renovated” to align with findings in a report released by the White House Domestic Policy Council.
According to the order, the signs must also direct visitors to “locations and resources for accurate information” about the nation’s history. The administration did not specify what those alternative resources would include.
The directive is based on a July 4 White House report that accused the Smithsonian of promoting “radical” and left-wing interpretations of American history and engaging in “extreme political activism that seeks to transform our country.”
In a fact sheet accompanying Friday’s order, the White House said Trump is working to restore what it describes as the Smithsonian’s original mission.
“President Trump is fighting back to restore one of the Nation’s greatest civic treasures to its founding mission and purpose and reestablish truth in the Nation’s historical narrative,” the White House said.
The order marks the latest escalation in the administration’s effort to reshape how American history is presented at federally supported museums and cultural institutions.
In March 2025, Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to combat what the administration called “historical revisions” that portray the nation’s past in an overly negative light. Friday’s action expands that initiative by placing the administration’s critique directly outside one of the Smithsonian’s most visited museums.
Critics argue the move is an attempt by the White House to influence public understanding of history by promoting a politically favored interpretation.
The National Museum of American History has long featured exhibits addressing topics including slavery, civil rights, immigration, Indigenous history and the evolving meaning of American democracy. Historians and museum professionals have warned that political interference could undermine the Smithsonian’s role as an independent educational institution.
Although the National Park Service falls under the Department of the Interior, the Smithsonian Institution operates as an independent entity established by Congress and is intended to function outside direct executive branch control.
However, the federal government provides much of the Smithsonian’s funding, and Vice President JD Vance serves on the institution’s Board of Regents.
Smithsonian leaders have previously said the institution intends to preserve its independence despite repeated efforts by the Trump administration to influence exhibits, programming and personnel decisions.
The Smithsonian declined to comment on Friday’s executive order.
It remains unclear when the National Park Service will install the signs or how long they will remain in place.
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