Dem
47
GOP
53
Here is a little math puzzle for you. How much is 2026-1776? If you guessed 250, you nailed it. Next year America will celebrate its something-or-other. Big party. Donald Trump wants to show off how great America was. Then he will make it great again. But first he has to show how great it was.
Specifically, Trump signed an executive order for the Smithsonian museums to remove Badthink ("improper ideology" in Trump's terminology) and is now pushing the Smithsonian to comply. What this means is removing those parts of American history Trump does not like, such as "divisive, race-centered ideology." We suspect that exhibits that mention the fact that there was slavery in America for about 250 years are probably not welcome. Exhibits about how the slaves were treated also probably not. And certainly the fact that quite a few of the founding fathers from the South (George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, etc.) were slave owners is also not the kind of thing Trump wants to see when strolling around a Smithsonian museum. And let's not even start on how the Native Americans, Japanese Americans, Chinese Americans and other groups have been treated over time.
Here is Anderson Cooper discussing Trump's directive:
Democrats in the House have called Trump's moves cowardly and unpatriotic. A letter written by the Democrats on the House Administration Committee said: "Unfortunately, we now stand at the brink of seeing the Smithsonian at its worst: shaped solely by the views and ideology of one individual as a means of expanding his political power."
This is not the first time Trump has played politics with the Smithsonian. In May, he tried to fire the director of the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery, Kim Sajet. He was informed that he didn't have that authority and was enraged. Nevertheless, 2 weeks later, under pressure, she resigned. And you thought art was not political? Silly you. (V)