Will Gen Z's Pivot to Republicans Last?
That is perhaps the most striking nugget in the Yale Youth Poll, a survey conducted April 1 – 3 and released last week that examined the political proclivities of voters ages 18 – 29. The pollsters discovered a crucial difference between voters ages 18 – 21 and those ages 22 – 29: The older subgroup plans to vote for Democrats in the 2026 midterm elections by a margin of 6.4 percentage points, but the younger set prefers Republicans by 11.7 points.
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CNN
16 minutes ago
- CNN
Trump's ‘chilling effect' is coming for museums, historians warn
Historians and researchers are expressing 'grave concern' about President Trump's push to purge museums of information he dislikes. 'Such political interference stands to impose a single and flawed view of American history onto the Smithsonian, placing at risk the integrity and accuracy of historical interpretation,' Sarah Weicksel, executive director of the American Historical Association, told CNN Wednesday. 'Such actions diminish our shared past and threaten to erode the public's trust in our shared institutions.' Weicksel said she has been fielding messages of concern not just from fellow historians, but also from people with no professional affiliations. 'Many of them are parents who are concerned about the Smithsonian's future,' she said. 'Others are frequent museum visitors.' On Tuesday, Trump called museums 'the last remaining segment of 'WOKE'' and said, 'We are not going to allow this to happen.' He was seemingly following up on last week's letter from the White House informing the Smithsonian Institution of a content 'review' that would aim 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.' That announcement prompted the American Alliance of Museums, which represents 35,000 professionals in the sector, to speak out against 'growing threats of censorship against US museums.' 'This is not just a concern for select institutions,' like the Smithsonian, the group said. 'These pressures can create a chilling effect across the entire museum sector.' The American Association for State and Local History argued in a statement that the Trump administration's broader goal is to 'delegitimize the work of the history field and to rob the public of its ability to learn from the past.' 'Censoring and manipulating content to fit a predetermined, triumphalist narrative is the antithesis of historical practice and a disservice to us all,' the association said. The ultimate danger 'is that you get an incomplete picture of what happened in the country,' Annette Gordon-Reed, the Pulitzer-winning Harvard historian, said on CNN's 'Anderson Cooper 360.' 'If you can't learn from history, if you don't know what actually happened,' Gordon-Reed said. 'So, it's a way of keeping people ignorant of the past.' Trump's follow-up message on Truth Social said, 'We have the 'HOTTEST' Country in the World, and we want people to talk about it, including in our Museums.' The president said he had directed attorneys to 'go through the Museums' and 'start the exact same process that has been done with colleges and universities where tremendous progress has been made.' In some ways, his rhetoric is a continuation of a fight that liberals and conservatives have been having for decades about how much to emphasize America's sins versus its strengths. 'America's national museums have been captured by a niche ideological faction that believes that Western civilization, and, indeed, our nation, is irredeemable,' the editors of the conservative publication National Review wrote last week. 'If the White House gets this review right, it can help make the Smithsonian a cultural gem that all Americans can once again take pride in.' Weicksel and other leaders in the field argue that Americans already have a great deal of trust in museums and historical sites, and MAGA-style ideological meddling will diminish that trust. 'Across numerous surveys, a majority of Americans consistently say they want a full, honest, and unvarnished presentation of our nation's history,' the Organization of American Historians said in a statement last week. The organization predicted that the administration's review would 'undoubtedly be in service of authoritarian control over the national narrative, collective memory, and national collections.' The Smithsonian is not part of the executive branch, but it is federally funded, and it has a Board of Regents that includes the vice president. The institution began a review of its own in June, and last week it said that it would 'continue to collaborate constructively' with the White House. Dozens of groups representing historians came to the Smithsonian's defense back in March when a Trump executive order disparaged the institution, presaging this month's actions. 'Our goal is neither criticism nor celebration; it is to understand — to increase our knowledge of — the past in ways that can help Americans to shape the future,' the groups said in an open letter. 'The stories that have shaped our past include not only elements that make us proud but also aspects that make us acutely aware of tragedies in our nation's history,' the letter continued. 'No person, no nation, is perfect, and we should all — as individuals and as nations — learn from our imperfections.'
The Hill
18 minutes ago
- The Hill
Texas can't require Ten Commandments in some districts, judge rules
A district judge ruled Wednesday that Texas can't require posters of the Ten Commandments to go up in certain school districts where parents have challenged the move. U.S. District Judge Fred Biery sided with a group of families fighting against a new law set to take effect Sept. 1 that would have put posters of the Ten Commandments in easily readable letters in every public school classroom in Texas. 'They just want to be left alone, neither proselytized nor ostracized, including what occurs to their children in government run schools,' the judge wrote in his decision. While this lawsuit only affects 11 districts, another legal challenge to the law is working its way through the courts. 'Today's ruling is a major win that protects the constitutional right to religious freedom for Texas families of all backgrounds,' said Tommy Buser-Clancy, senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Texas. 'The court affirmed what we have long said: Public schools are for educating, not evangelizing.' The Hill has reached out to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's (R) office for comment. Texas is the third state to suffer a court loss over laws for the Ten Commandments to be hung in public school classrooms, following Louisiana and Arkansas. Critics say Republicans are hoping to take these cases to the Supreme Court. 'I don't think anybody is surprised that these policies, these laws in the states that seek to put the Ten Commandments back in schools, have been challenged in court. They're making their way through the proper channels, and we still are very confident that at the end of the day, when these cases get to the Supreme Court, that they're going to uphold them based on the new history-and-tradition test,' Matt Krause, of counsel with the First Liberty Institute, previously told The Hill.
The Hill
18 minutes ago
- The Hill
Trump's Smithsonian criticism contrasts with 2017 praise
President Trump has changed his tune on the Smithsonian's depiction of America's past since he visited the National Museum of African American History in 2017. Following that visit to the newly opened museum, Trump was full of praise. 'It's a new, beautiful Smithsonian Museum that serves as a shining example of African Americans' incredible contributions to our culture, our society, and our history,' Trump said months into his first term. 'It also tells of the great struggle for freedom and equality that prevailed against the sins of slavery, and the injustice of discrimination. The work and love of the people who helped create such a masterpiece is a testament to the legacy of so many leaders,' he added. The president added in the February 2017 remarks that 'nothing' was more importnat than his promise to continue 'freedom for African Americans and for every American.' 'This tour was a meaningful reminder of why we have to fight bigotry, intolerance and hatred in all of its very ugly forms,' he added. Those comments returned to the spotlight on Tuesday after Trump announced a review of the Smithsonian's museums for what he called a 'woke' lens on American history. 'The Smithsonian is OUT OF CONTROL, where everything discussed is how horrible our Country is, how bad Slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been — Nothing about Success, nothing about Brightness, nothing about the Future,' the president wrote in a Tuesday Truth Social post. 'We are not going to allow this to happen, and I have instructed my attorneys to go through the Museums, and start the exact same process that has been done with Colleges and Universities where tremendous progress has been made,' Trump wrote. 'This Country cannot be WOKE, because WOKE IS BROKE.' Trump has declared museum exhibitions must be brought into 'alignment' with his objective to 'celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.' The Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History removed an exhibit earlier this month referencing Trump's two impeachments, drawing fire from Democrats. Trump also forced out National Portrait Gallery Director Kim Sajet, the first woman to helm the institution. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) slammed Trump's latest comments during a Tuesday appearanc e on CNN. 'Is he a publicist for slavery, like a lobbyist on behalf of slavery?' he asked. 'It doesn't make any sense that he would want to erase one of the ugliest things that's ever happened in America and educate our children, especially about how we make sure it doesn't happen again.' David Axelrod, a former top Obama advisor, remarked on the notable contrast between first-term and second-term Trump. 'I find myself weirdly nostalgic for the @POTUS Trump who once recognized 'the great struggle for freedom and equality that prevailed against the sins of slavery,' and the value and importance of enshrining that history at the Smithsonian,' Axelrod wrote on X. 'Now he wants to expunge it.'
