White House report accuses Smithsonian’s museum leadership of “extreme political activism”

Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch responded to President Trump’s most recent attack, framing the White House’s hostile 162-page July 4 report as a gross misrepresentation of what the storied cultural institution actually does.“While there will always be room for improvement, this report is not a fair characterization of the work and totality of the National Museum of American History,” Bunch said in an internal letter obtained by ABC News. “At the Smithsonian, our work is driven by scholarship, accuracy, and an uncompromising commitment to tell the fullness of America’s story.… As public servants and the keepers of this institution, we are charged with helping a nation find understanding, hope, and clarity and as part of that duty, we are dedicated to excellence, reflection, and growth.”The White House’s Domestic Policy Council essentially called the Smithsonian an extremist, anti-white, anti-American organization, writing that the museum “has become subject to institutional capture by a radical, activist ideology that is fundamentally opposed to telling the noble, honest story of the great country we know and love.”“As it stands today, it would benefit most Americans, especially parents bringing their children for a tour, if the Smithsonian’s flagship history museum had a label at every entrance that reads: ‘Warning: the exhibits in this museum were prepared by people who don’t want you to love your country,’” the report concluded.Bunch, who is the Smithsonian’s first Black chief and whose time leading the institution may very well be limited, encouraged his staff to continue to use their work to “find understanding, hope, and clarity.”How much can you really love America if you’re not willing to see all sides of its history, from its most triumphant moments to its most abhorrent ones? Everything contained in the Smithsonian museums—from the National African American History and Culture Museum to the American Art Museum—is there because it had an outsize impact on American culture. It seems that the right just can’t handle hearing anything negative about this country at all, regardless of how truthful it is.

A new White House report accuses the Smithsonian of bias and hostility to White people in its handling of the nation's history. A Washington Post op-ed contends the White House has a bias problem of its own. Its author, Philip Kennicott, senior art and architecture critic for The Post, joins to discuss.

White House Report Accuses Smithsonian Leaders Of 'Extreme Political Activism' Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times, A White House report accused leaders of the Smithsonian Institution of adopting an ideological framework that shifted the National Museum of American History away from its mission of historical education toward what it called an "extreme political activism." People visit the Smithsonian Museum of American History on the National Mall in Washington, on April 3, 2019. Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo The 162-page report, released by the White House Domestic Policy Council on July 4, alleges that the National Museum of American History - which is run by the Smithsonian Institution - "fails to substantively present America's founder and founding" in its exhibits. The report states that the Smithsonian Institution, particularly the National Museum of American History, "cannot be trusted to tell America's story honestly and in a way that is inspiring, unifying, and worthy of our great republic." "By the intention and at the direction of current museum and Smithsonian leadership, [National Museum of American History] has become the subject to institutional capture by a radical, activist ideology that is fundamentally opposed to telling the noble, honest story of the great country we know and love," it stated. The council said the museum has not established any exhibit specifically dedicated to the Founding Fathers, the Second Continental Congress, the Declaration of Independence, the American Revolutionary War, or the nation's path to independence and the establishment of constitutional rule of law. "Our central finding is not that the museum has simply added overlooked stories, corrected perceived errors, or broadened its historical scope," the report stated. "Rather, it is that museum leadership has explicitly adopted an ideological framework that no longer treats the American story as a shared national inheritance to be taught or celebrated, but as a political instrument to divide, dispirit, and discourage our citizens." A Smithsonian spokesperson told The Epoch Times by email that the institution "has served the American public with nonpartisan and independent scholarship" for more than 180 years and will remain "committed to doing so." The National Museum of American History, located in Washington, was originally named the National Museum of History and Technology when it was opened in January 1964. The museum was renamed in October 1980 to better reflect its responsibilities. According to its website, the museum's collection includes more than 1.7 million objects representing the nation's heritage in the areas of science, technology, society, and culture. The White House report followed President Donald Trump's March 2025 executive order directing the Interior Department to ensure that public monuments "do not contain descriptions, depictions, or other content that inappropriately disparage Americans past or living." The order states that many national parks promoted what it described as "distorted narrative driven by ideology." "It is the policy of my Administration to restore Federal sites dedicated to history, including parks and museums, to solemn and uplifting public monuments that remind Americans of our extraordinary heritage, consistent progress toward becoming a more perfect Union, and unmatched record of advancing liberty, prosperity, and human flourishing," Trump stated in the order. Tyler Durden Mon, 07/06/2026 - 19:15

The White House on July 4 issued an acidic 162-page report that accused the Smithsonian National Museum of American History (NMAH) of “extreme political activism” and lambasted its leadership for having “explicitly adopted an ideological framework that no longer treats the American story as a shared national inheritance to be taught or celebrated, but as a political […]

The White House lashed out against the Smithsonian Institution's leadership Monday, accusing the network that runs 21 museums of "extreme political activism" and failing to celebrate America.

A 162-page White House report accuses the National Museum of American History of ideological capture and abandoning straightforward education.