Washington: Museum denies removing Trump references under political pressure

The Museum of American History in Washington on Saturday denied any pressure from the Trump administration that led to the recent removal from its exhibits of a panel referring to the impeachment proceedings against the US president. " Neither the administration nor any government official has asked us to remove the content of the exhibit ," the Smithsonian Institution, which brings together the major museums in the federal capital and is currently the target of a government takeover, assured X.

The section of the exhibition " The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden ," inaugurated in 2000, has been mentioning since September 2021 the two impeachment proceedings that targeted the current president during his first term.

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The first took place in December 2019 for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, after pressure on Ukraine to harm Joe Biden, and the second in January 2021 for incitement of insurrection, following the storming of the Capitol by Mr. Trump's supporters. In both cases, Donald Trump, impeached by the House of Representatives, was acquitted by the Senate.

The exhibition now only provides information on the impeachment proceedings of Presidents Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998, as well as Richard Nixon, who would have been impeached had he not resigned in 1974.

The Smithsonian Institution explained that the removed panel was displayed " temporarily " and " did not meet the museum's standards for appearance, location, chronology, and overall presentation ." " It was inconsistent with other parts of the exhibition and blocked the view of objects in the display case ," it added. It assured that the display would be " renewed in the coming weeks to reflect all removal proceedings ."

According to the Washington Post , which broke the story, the change was part of a content review the institution undertook following pressure from the White House, which attempted to fire the director of the National Gallery of Art before she resigned in June.

In March, Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at regaining control over the content of the Smithsonian museums, which have been accused of " historical revisionism " and of having engaged in racial " ideological indoctrination " over the past decade. The March order also mandated that J.D. Vance, a member of the Smithsonian's board of trustees as vice president of the United States, be tasked with " seeking to remove any inappropriate ideology " from these institutions.