12 h. ago ‘It reminds you of a fascist state’: Smithsonian Institution braces for Trump rewrite of US history

Normally staid historians sound alarm at authoritarian grasping for control of the premier US museum complexIn a brightly lit gallery, they see the 66m-year-old skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex. In a darkened room, they study the flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the national anthem. In a vast aviation hanger, they behold a space shuttle. And in a discreet corner, they file solemnly past the casket of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old Black boy lynched for allegedly whistling at a white woman in the US south.Visitors have come in their millions to the Smithsonian Institution, the world’s biggest museum, education and research complex, in Washington for the past 178 years. On Thursday, Donald Trump arrived with his cultural wrecking ball. Continue reading...

Politics

13 h. ago US House to vote on ‘reckless’ $1bn budget cut to Washington DC

Trump and congressional Republicans attempting to exert control over mostly Democratic capital cityWashington DC has found itself in the crosshairs of Donald Trump and congressional Republicans in recent weeks, with efforts by both to exert more control over the overwhelmingly Democratic capital city.The president on Thursday signed an executive order he said would make Washington DC “safe, beautiful, and prosperous” by stepping up crime fighting, arrests of undocumented immigrants and the processing of permits to carry concealed weapons. Trump separately directed JD Vance to “remove improper ideology” from the Smithsonian Institution, which has many museums in and around the city. Continue reading...

Politics

13 h. ago Trump signs order on Washington DC as Republicans exert control over city

President says order will make capital ‘safe, beautiful’ by stepping up arrests of undocumented peopleWashington DC has found itself in the crosshairs of Donald Trump and congressional Republicans in recent weeks, with efforts by both to exert more control over the overwhelmingly Democratic capital city.The president on Thursday signed an executive order he said would make Washington DC “safe, beautiful, and prosperous” by stepping up crime fighting, arrests of undocumented immigrants and the processing of permits to carry concealed weapons. Trump separately directed JD Vance to “remove improper ideology” from the Smithsonian Institution, which has many museums in and around the city. Continue reading...

Politics

33 h. ago Why President Donald Trump now has a problem with the Smithsonian

Trump believes institutions have fallen prey to ‘woke’ ideology

Politics

37 h. ago ‘It’s a scary time’: artists react to White House’s recent targeting of Smithsonian Institution

Roberto Lugo and other artists of color are now feeling heat from Trump’s attack on diversity and efforts to rewrite truth of the US’s pastArtists, academics and politicians have shared their outrage in reaction to the Trump administration’s latest executive order targeting the Smithsonian Institution, the world’s largest museum network.Late on Thursday, Trump announced that his administration had ordered a large reshaping of the Smithsonian in an attempt to eliminate what he described as “improper, divisive or anti-American ideology”. Continue reading...

Events

40 h. ago What is the Smithsonian Institution and why is it important?

A Trump executive order aims to uproot ‘anti-American ideology’ from the US museum and research complexOn Thursday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order targeting the Smithsonian Institution, a behemoth of a research and museum organization that operates more than 20 museum and research centers and is visited by millions of people each year, mainly in Washington DC and New York City. The museums include the National Museum of African Art, the National Portrait Gallery, the National Museum of the American Indian and the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), which Trump name-checked in his executive order. Trump’s executive order instructs Vice-President JD Vance to “eliminate improper, divisive or anti-American ideology” from the Smithsonian’s museums.The Smithsonian has already come under scrutiny by Trump and his allies. Earlier this year, the institution was forced to close its diversity office and froze all federal hiring. Continue reading...

Politics

55 h. ago Trump’s executive order forces removal of ‘improper ideology’ at Smithsonian museums to promote ‘American greatness’: Live

President directs JD Vance to rid museums of ‘divisive narratives’ in latest culture war push

Politics

63 h. ago Trump signs executive order threatening to gut Smithsonian Institute funding unless ‘improper ideology’ removed: Live

President directs JD Vance to rid museums of ‘divisive narratives’ in latest culture war push

Politics

2 d. ago Trump executive order on Smithsonian targets funding for ‘improper ideology’

JD Vance to lead plan as Trump says there’s been ‘concerted’ effort to rewrite US history with ‘distorted narrative’Donald Trump revealed his intentions to reshape the Smithsonian Institution with an executive order on Thursday that targets funding to programs with “divisive narratives” and “improper ideology”.The president said there has been a “concerted and widespread” effort over the past decade to rewrite US history by replacing “objective facts” with a “distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth”. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Trump executive order on Smithsonian targets funding to programs with 'improper ideology'

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order on the Smithsonian Institution that targets funding to programs that contain what he calls “divisive narratives” and “improper ideology.”

Politics