What is Smithsonian? Why is President Trump

By Hillel Italy and Aaron Morrison, Associated Press

New York (AP) – The executive order of President Donald Trump entitled “Restoring the truth and mental health to American history” targets the Smithsonian Institution – which, according to him, “is the influence of a divider ideology and centered on the race”. Critics have rejected, saying that order is an attempted money laundering in American history.

His order is part of a wave of actions against the cultural organizations that allege have been exceeded by the “awake” ideology, from Kennedy Center to the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The voice of America and the PBS are also in sight.

Trump instructed the vice-president JD Vance to direct the effort to “carry out the policies” of the decree, in particular to ensure that no funding goes to “exhibitions or programs that degrade shared American values, divide Americans according to the race or promote programs or ideologies incompatible with federal law and politics”.

Here is an overview of the Smithsonian institution and what is happening with it.

What is Smithsonian?

With an annual budget exceeding $ 1 billion, the Smithsonian is the “largest museum, education and the research complex in the world”, according to its website.

It was designed in the 19th century by the British scientist, James Smithson, who bequeathed his succession to the end of an establishment based in Washington which helps “increase and disseminate knowledge”. In 1846, 17 years after the death of Smithson, President James K. Polk signed legislation calling for the training of the institution.

The Smithsonian now operates a wide range of cultural centers in Washington and beyond, in particular the Air and Space Museum, the Portrait Gallery, the National Zoo and the Smithsonian gardens. About 60% of its funding comes from the federal government, but the institution also receives money from “trust funds or non -federal funds, which include contributions from private sources”, according to its website.

What are Trump’s specific objections?

In his executive decree, he said that “the National Museum of African-American History and Culture has proclaimed that” hard work “,” individualism “and” nuclear family “are aspects of” white culture “and have criticized an upcoming exhibition at the Museum of History of American women who highlights the achievements of Trans athletes. He also distinguished an exhibition at the American art museum which “promotes the opinion that race is not a biological reality but a social construction”.

What has Trump have said on the African-American museum?

In 2017, Trump visited the National Museum of African-American History and Culture with the Secretary of the Thin and Urban Development Ben Carson, the Republican Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina and Alveda King, a niece of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. The tour of the president of NMAAHC.

The museum includes an exhibition highlighting the professional achievements of Carson, a successful pediatric neurosurgeon who has long been celebrated as a model for black budding doctors.

“I am deeply proud to now have a museum that honors the millions of African-American men and women who have built our national heritage, especially with regard to the unbreakable faith, culture and spirit,” said Trump after the 2017 tour. “I know that the president (Barack) Obama was there for the opening of the museum last fall. And I am honored to be the second president in office to visit this great museum. ”

What was the answer to Trump’s decree?

Friday, outside the National Museum of African-American History and Culture, Trump’s decree and its potential impact were faced with dismay.

Dorothy Wilson, visiting the first time with her two grandchildren, said that she was very concerned about what it would mean for them and for others if they had not been able to learn the truth about the past.

“It really hurts generations because your story is who you are,” she said.

Elizabeth Pagano, coming from the New York State Valley, said: “The history of the United States and the history of all those who have come is the story of everyone. You cannot choose and choose your story.”

In a statement, Margaret Huang, president and chief executive officer of the Southern Poverty Law Center, said: “Black history is the history of the United States. The history of women is the history of the United States. The history of this country is ugly and beautiful. And each historic struggle for civil rights has advanced our movement towards a really inclusive multiracial democracy. ”

The writer Associated Press Deepti Hajela in New York and videojournalist Mike Pesoli in Washington contributed to this report.

Originally published: March 28, 2025 at 2:14 p.m.