President Donald Trump revealed his intentions to reshape the Smithsonian Institution with an executive order Thursday that targets funding to programs with “divisive narratives” and “improper ideology.”
Trump said there has been a “concerted and widespread” effort over the past decade to rewrite American history by replacing “objective facts” with a “distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth.”
He signed an executive order putting Vice President JD Vance in charge of an effort to “remove improper ideology” from the Smithsonian Institution, including its museums, education and research centers and the National Zoo.
Trump’s order specifically names the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the Women’s History Museum, which is in development.
“Museums in our Nation’s capital should be places where individuals go to learn — not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history,” the order said.
Representatives for the Smithsonian did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education and research complex. It consists of 21 museums and the National Zoo. Eleven museums are located along the National Mall in Washington.
The institution was established with funds from James Smithson, a British scientist who left his estate to the United States to found “at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.”