July 10, 2026
The Smithsonian Institution defends its museums after the White House accused the National Museum of American History of promoting radical activism.
Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch, III, is defending the nation’s largest museum complex after a scathing White House report accused the National Museum of American History of promoting “thinly veiled anti-Americanism” and “extreme political activism.”
The 162-page report, titled Saving America’s Story, was released by the White House Domestic Policy Council on July 4 as part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to reshape how American history is presented at federally supported cultural institutions. The report alleges that the Smithsonian has become ideologically biased and argues that its exhibits fail to present a patriotic and unifying narrative of the nation’s past, Reuters reports.
“The thinly veiled anti-Americanism on display at NMAH is merely a symptom of the widespread belief among Smithsonian leadership that America is, and has been since Columbus first set foot in the New World, a fundamentally oppressive nation,” the White House report said, adding that the museum has moved “toward an extreme political activism.”
The report went on to accuse the museum of “anti-White activism,” “illegal alien activism,” and “transgender activism,” reports ABC News. It also criticizes museum exhibits and programming for emphasizing issues such as slavery, race, and systemic inequality.
“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,’” reads the report.
The White House review was launched in response to the executive order President Donald Trump signed in March 2025 directing Vice President J.D. Vance and federal advisors “to remove improper ideology” from Smithsonian institutions that he believes cast America in a “negative light.”
In a memo sent to Smithsonian employees on July 7, Bunch rejected the administration’s characterization.
“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 wrote, according to Reuters.
Bunch, who became the Smithsonian’s first Black secretary in 2019 after founding the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, defended the institution’s commitment to presenting a complete account of the American experience. According to Reuters, he emphasized that while there is always room to improve, the museum remains committed to accurately portraying U.S. history rather than advancing a political agenda.
The Organization of American Historians, the nation’s largest professional association of U.S. historians, also condemned the White House report, calling it an attempt to pressure the institution into aligning its exhibits with the administration’s political agenda.
“In another example of executive branch overreach, the White House is seeking to coerce Smithsonian leadership to shape its presentation of U.S. history so that it serves the administration’s political agenda,” the organization said in a statement.
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