Trump orders signs outside the Smithsonian accusing it of inaccuracy

What happened

The order directs interior secretary Doug Burgum to work with the National Park Service and assistant to the president for domestic policy Vince Haley on temporary signs for the Park Service-maintained walkways into the museum. The order says the signs “shall notify visitors that the museum exhibits should be renovated consistent with the findings in the report” and should direct the public to other places for American history information. The same group must also produce signs criticizing the Smithsonian for not sufficiently commemorating the Declaration of Independence during the 250th anniversary of its adoption. A White House domestic policy council report called “Saving America's Story” accused the museum's leadership of “ideological capture”.

Why it matters

One federal department is directed to install official signage disputing another federal institution's exhibits, at the entrance the public uses. The lever here is not funding but compelled official speech about what a scholarly institution gets wrong, delivered by the state in its own voice.

Receipt details

• Phase 1
• Silence the watchdogs
• Rewrite the national story at its institutions