While Democrats continue to call Trump’s executive order to review the Smithsonian museums an attempt to rewrite history, the truth is his move is both necessary and long overdue. For years, these taxpayer-funded institutions have drifted from their mission of teaching history and culture, replacing it with racially divisive ideology disguised as education.
As a Jewish student whose parents fled the Soviet Union, I know exactly what it means when institutions twist history for political ends. My family lived under a regime where facts were censored, identity was suppressed, and propaganda replaced truth. My parents came to America for freedom, not to see our public museums become mouthpieces for an ideology that excludes people like me from its definition of “diversity.”
The reality is the Smithsonian has already been rewriting history under the banner of “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI). The institution’s fiscal year 2024 and 2025 budgets, which I reviewed, show just how entrenched the DEI initiative has become in the Smithsonian’s operations.
In 2024, the Smithsonian requested—and received—$800,000 in taxpayer funds to create an Office of the Head Diversity Officer, a high-level position tasked exclusively with advancing DEI across the institution. The 2025 budget kept that office and added another director-level diversity position, meaning two separate bureaucracies now exist solely to enforce DEI priorities.
This spending is not harmless. Aside from being a clear waste of taxpayer funds, it shapes what the museum teaches. A few years ago, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture released a poster on “White Culture” that was blatantly discriminatory.
It labeled entire values and behaviors as racially “white,” such as “Self-reliance,” “Hard work is the key to success,” “Plan for future,” “Delayed gratification,” and “Objective, rational linear thinking.”
These are not “white” traits—they are human virtues embraced by successful individuals of every race. Suggesting otherwise implies that people of other races inherently reject these qualities, which is itself a deeply racist assumption.
The same poster also claimed that “Christianity is the norm” is a feature of “white culture,” portraying the world’s largest religion as a racial construct. That is factually wrong—Christianity is the largest religion in Africa and Latin America, and most of its adherents worldwide are not white.
Other statements, like “Follow rigid time schedules” and “Time viewed as a commodity,” framed basic organizational skills as oppressive tools of whiteness. If a similar chart had been made stereotyping “Black Culture” or “Asian Culture,” it would have been condemned immediately. But because it targeted “white culture,” it was defended as educational.
The Smithsonian’s 2025 budget request included $1,334,000 in pay increases tied to positions overseeing DEI integration into exhibitions, hiring, and recruitment. It openly states that hiring panels must be “diverse” and that interviews must include DEI-related questions.
The National Air and Space Museum (NASM) is “broadening candidate searches” and “collaborating with a DEAI content lead” to change exhibition programs. The 2024 budget described a DEAI strategic implementation plan and even added an associate director for community engagement whose duties explicitly include leading DEI efforts.
At the Smithsonian, DEI has become a filter for deciding who is heard, who is hired, and how history is presented. It prioritizes racial quotas and ideological compliance over factual education.
The problem extends beyond hiring policies. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art accepted a $1.5 million grant from the Lilly Endowment to fund its “Global Religions of Africa Initiative.” While cultural research is important, the grant’s explicit purpose is to “enhance diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion” in programming. DEI is no longer a side element—it is the framework that shapes what stories are told, how they are told, and who gets to tell them.
Public museums belong to everyone. They are funded by more than a billion dollars a year from taxpayers of all races, religions, and political beliefs. When museums use that money to advance a one-sided ideology, they stop being educational institutions and become political actors. Trump’s executive order recognizes this reality and takes the first necessary step to correct it.
The Trump administration’s review will not “erase” history; rather, it will restore accuracy and fairness. It will hold the Smithsonian accountable for how it spends taxpayer dollars and ensure its exhibits and educational programs serve all Americans—not just those who fit an approved ideological profile.
The Smithsonian should be a place where a student from any background can learn about history without being told that their culture, values, or identity are inherently oppressive. If the Smithsonian truly wants to inspire the next generation, it should welcome the Trump administration's review—because education should unite Americans, not divide them.
Editor’s Note: Do you enjoy Townhall’s conservative reporting that takes on the radical left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth.
Join Townhall VIP and use the promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership!
Join the conversation as a VIP Member