President Donald Trump has initiated a series of measures focused on federal cultural and historical institutions, seeking what his administration describes as the removal of "anti-American" perspectives from museums, monuments and public sites. The measures, announced and carried out after his return to office, have included executive orders, administrative reviews, and changes in institutional leadership and oversight.
Executive order and federal directives
In March 2025, weeks after taking office, the president signed an executive order intended to address what he characterized as the spread of "anti-American ideology" within the Smithsonian Institution. The order instructed the Smithsonian to remove that ideology from the complex, and additionally directed the Interior Department to restore federal parks, monuments and memorials that the administration said were "removed or changed in the last years to perpetuate a false revision of history."
Following that directive, the U.S. Interior Department placed national parks' interpretive signage - the plaques and panels explaining sites and events - under review as part of a broader effort to reshape public spaces and museum narratives.
Changes to exhibits and signage
Staff within the National Park Service removed a slavery exhibit on January 22 from a Philadelphia historic site associated with George Washington. That exhibit included a reference to Washington's ownership of enslaved people. Separately, reports cited in public accounts indicate orders to remove dozens of signs and displays that related to slavery and to the mistreatment of Native Americans by settlers.
In another decision the National Park Service announced last August that it would reinstall a statue of Confederate General Albert Pike, which had been toppled and vandalized in 2020 during racial justice protests following the murder of George Floyd. Civil rights organizations have warned that such actions risk undermining public acknowledgment of crucial chapters in U.S. history.
Public remarks and civil rights reactions
The president's public comments have also drawn attention. In a social media post last August, he criticized what he described as an excessive focus on "how bad slavery was." In a January interview with the New York Times, when asked about policies stemming from the Civil Rights Act of 1964, he said civil rights protections hurt white people. The NAACP, the country's largest civil rights organization, said those remarks set the stage for rolling back social progress. Black Lives Matter stated that the comments signaled a desire to deny the atrocities of slavery.
Responding to removals and content changes, the NAACP said, "Stripping enslaved people’s stories from museum exhibits, monuments, and digital archives is not neutrality - it is erasure."
Pressure on the Smithsonian
The Smithsonian Institution, a 180-year-old complex that includes 21 museums and galleries and the National Zoo, came under scrutiny from the White House. Although the Smithsonian receives most of its funding from the U.S. Congress and remains independent in decision-making, the president criticized the institution in a social media post, saying it would be subject to the same scrutiny he has applied to colleges and universities whose funding faced consequences over policies the administration disapproved of.
The White House initiated an internal review of certain Smithsonian museums to evaluate the tone and historical framing of exhibition text, websites, educational materials and digital content. The Smithsonian said it would engage "constructively" with the review.
Kennedy Center takeover and rebranding
At the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the president appointed himself chairman and filled the institution's board with allies. In December, the center's board voted to rename the organization the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. The president has previously criticized the institution as "too liberal." Following the board vote, numerous groups and artists withdrew from scheduled appearances, citing the change in governance.
Democrats have noted that the center's name was established by Congress and have said the board's rebranding has no force of law. The family of John F. Kennedy publicly denounced the renaming, saying it undermines the slain president's legacy. On February 1, the president said he plans to close the center for two years beginning in July for reconstruction.
Other agencies and cultural bodies
Federal cultural and regulatory agencies have also seen actions and personnel changes. In April, the administration announced that the Environmental Protection Agency would close a one-room museum at its headquarters that focused on the agency's history, citing cost reductions. In late spring, the president publicly criticized Kim Sajet, director of the National Portrait Gallery, calling her "partisan." She announced a month later that she would step down.
Late last year, several members of the National Council on the Humanities were dismissed by the White House. Internationally, the administration has withdrawn the United States from dozens of global and U.N. entities, including cultural and refugee agencies, citing a determination that those organizations did not benefit Washington.
Implications and outlook
The administration portrays these actions as correcting what it views as a distorted historical narrative in federal cultural institutions. Civil rights groups and arts organizations contend that the steps risk erasing painful but central elements of American history from public display. The administration's series of directives, removals and leadership changes has created a contested landscape across museums, national parks and cultural bodies, with debate continuing over both the authority and the consequences of these moves.