Trump issues executive order targeting ‘woke’ and ‘anti-American’ culture in US museums

President Donald Trump has revealed his intention to force changes at the Smithsonian Institution - the world’s largest museum, education and research complex - with an executive order targeting funding for programs that advance “divisive narratives” and “improper ideology."

The order, titled "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History", targets any ideology that he considers "anti-American", in what is his latest attack on culture he deems too liberal, “woke”, and out of step with conservative sensibilities.

Trump claimed 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," adding that it casts the “founding principles” of the United States in a “negative light.”

The order he signed behind closed doors puts Vice President JD Vance, who serves on the Smithsonian Institution's Board of Regents, in charge of overseeing efforts to “remove improper ideology” from all areas of the institution, including its museums, education and research centers, and the National Zoo.

The Smithsonian museums offer free entry to up to 30 million visitors each year. 

Under Trump’s order, Vance will also work with the White House budget office to make sure future funding for the Smithsonian Institution isn’t spent on programs that “degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with federal law and policy.”

Trump also singled out the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Women's History Museum and the American Art Museum for criticism. Regarding the Women’s History Museum, Trump said he wants to ensure that it celebrates women and not “recognize men as women in any respect.”

“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,” he said.

The executive order also hints at the return of statues and monuments of Confederate figures, many of which were taken down or replaced around the country after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020 and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, which is detested by Trump and other conservatives.

This new executive order comes after Trump recently had himself installed as chairman of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts with the aim of overhauling programming.