In late July, we learned that the Smithsonian has scrubbed all references to Donald Trump in their impeachment exhibit. Smithsonian’s curators claimed that it was a temporary issue, but given the Trump administration’s continued interference in museums, libraries, schools and universities, it felt like the tip of the iceberg of authoritarian control over cultural institutions and American history itself. Well, guess what. The Trump White House is now conducting a “review” of the Smithsonian so that the museum will adhere to MAGA lunacy.

The White House plans to conduct a far-reaching review of Smithsonian museum exhibitions, materials and operations ahead of America’s 250th anniversary to ensure the museums align with President Trump’s interpretation of American history. In a letter sent to Lonnie Bunch, the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, three top White House officials said they want to ensure the museums present the “unity, progress, and enduring values that define the American story” and reflect the president’s executive order calling for “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.”

Areas under scrutiny range from public-facing exhibition text and online content to internal curatorial processes, exhibition planning, the use of collections and artist grants. “This initiative aims to ensure alignment with the president’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions,” the letter states.

The letter, dated Tuesday, Aug. 12, and viewed by The Wall Street Journal, was signed by White House senior associate Lindsey Halligan, the director of the domestic policy council, Vince Haley, and the director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russ Vought.

The White House review of the Smithsonian’s extensive collection of art and historical artifacts comes as the president has sought to reorient the country’s cultural institutions, including top universities, and demonstrates Trump’s efforts to recast parts of American history in a more positive light. The Smithsonian’s Board of Regents agreed to conduct a thorough review of all its museum and zoo content to eliminate political influence and bias, the Journal previously reported.

Sarah Weicksel, executive director of the American Historical Association, said the White House’s effort was an affront to the historians and curators trained to ensure historical accuracy. “If those things are taken out of the hands of historians, the public stands to lose a great deal in having reliable and engaging content that tells a whole and complex story of the American past,” she said.

[From WSJ]

Nothing like a MAGA Review of one of the most important museums in the country, if not the world. As many have noted, we’re already twenty dead canaries into this coal mine, but these stories are the ones which depress me the most. Like…fascist interference and control over the greatest American universities, the greatest American museums, the greatest cultural centerpieces of America. It really is the swiftest decline of an empire.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.