Trump Administration Plans Warning Signs Outside Smithsonian Museum
The Trump administration is moving forward with plans to install warning signs outside an iconic Smithsonian museum. What do the signs say, and why are some people so upset about these plans? This is what you need to know.
Leaked Letter Signals Changes Ahead for the Smithsonian
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History could have new signage greeting visitors soon. U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum confirmed in a letter that the Trump administration is planning to put up signs outside the museum about what some Republicans say is a biased view of American history.
The White House wants to put the temporary warning signs outside of the building that sits in the middle of the National Mall. Burgum's letter to Sen. Jeff Merkley notes that the signs will give visitors additional context about the exhibits housed inside the museum.
The Atlantic obtained the letter from Burgum to Merkley, a Democratic senator from Oregon, dated September 3. According to the letter, the National Park Service (NPS) will install approximately a dozen signs along the exterior of the museum. The signs and the installation will cost taxpayers an estimated $84,000. The New York Times is also reporting on the project, saying that the signs' design and wording have not been finalized.
The plans to install the signs are part of an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in July. The order is part of a broader initiative by Trump to revamp the facade of the nation's capital and to eliminate what his team calls the "wokeness" of Washington, D.C.
Burgum penned a separate letter to GOP Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, addressing questions that were raised about the president's March 2025 executive order that was called “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.” This order was signed to address what the White House claims is a nationwide "revisionist movement” that paints the founding principles of the nation and its historical achievements in a negative light. Trump and his supporters have been beating the drum that these efforts to revise history simply diminish what Americans have accomplished over the years.
Burgum's letter signals what the administration plans to do with the Smithsonian signs. The letter details that visitors to the premier museum for American history should receive additional context about the exhibits before walking inside.
Trump White House Accuses Smithsonian of Inaccurate Presentation of History
The White House continues to accuse the museum and its curators of presenting U.S. history through their biased ideological lens. A report released earlier in the year argued that some of the exhibits and materials are reflections of specific political ideologies instead of what has been historically regarded as an accurate documentation of the country's past achievements and struggles.
The Smithsonian has largely tried to stay out of the debate; however, it continues to defend its presentation methods by noting that they are rooted in accuracy and academics and not in politics. National Museum of American History Director Anthea Hartig told Congress that the museum never takes sides in contemporary political debates. Instead, Hartig told lawmakers that the museum's goal is to preserve pieces of evidence so that visitors can make their own assumptions about how the nation's story has unfolded.
Burgum's recent letter also brings attention to previous statements from Hartig and former Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch. Secretary Burgum referenced museum exhibits and associated materials that touch on hot-button topics of immigration, race, and the transgender population.
Like many other institutions in Washington, such as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Trump administration has tried to roll out widespread changes within the Smithsonian network of museums. Should Trump and Burgum succeed in this latest endeavor, visitors to the National Museum of American History could be greeted with federally funded signs that are critical of the building's exhibits.
The National Museum of American History is typically the second-most visited building within the Smithsonian family, second only to the National Museum of Natural History.
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