Stop Trump’s Smithsonian Takeover

Donald Trump is coming for the Smithsonian — and the people responsible for protecting it need to fight back now.

On Independence Day, Trump's White House released a report calling Smithsonian leaders radical activists, escalating Trump’s campaign to control how American history is told. Trump wants museums that flatter him, erase uncomfortable truths, and turn public history into propaganda.

The Smithsonian belongs to the American people — not to Donald Trump. Its museums should tell the truth about slavery, civil rights, immigration, Indigenous history, women’s rights, LGBTQ+ history, labor, war, democracy, and every struggle that shaped this country.

If Trump can exploit patriotism around America’s 250th birthday to bully the Smithsonian into rewriting history, no public institution is safe.

Tell the Smithsonian Board of Regents and Congress: Reject political interference, protect curatorial independence, and stop Trump’s Smithsonian takeover.

In authoritarian regimes, leaders attack historians, threaten museums, rewrite the past, and use their false story to control the future. We cannot let that happen here.

Students, educators, museum visitors, and communities whose stories have long been erased deserve a Smithsonian that tells the truth — not one forced to serve one politician’s ego.

The Smithsonian Board of Regents must not back down. They must draw the line against political purges, censorship, and Trump’s culture war. And Congress must back them up with oversight, funding protections, and public pressure against executive abuse.

If the Smithsonian caves, Trump and his allies won’t stop here. They’ll bully public museums across the nation into silence.

Add your name now and demand the Smithsonian Board of Regents and Congress stop Trump from turning America’s museums into propaganda for his agenda.

The petition to the Smithsonian Board of Regents and Congress reads:

“Stop Trump’s Smithsonian takeover. Defend curatorial independence, protect honest history, reject political interference, and block any effort to remove leaders, censor exhibits, or turn America’s museums into propaganda for his agenda.”