Latest news with #TheAmericanPresidency:AGloriousBurden
Yomiuri Shimbun
18 hours ago
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Smithsonian Restores Trump to Impeachment Display in American History Museum
The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History on Friday unveiled an updated impeachment display that now includes context about President Donald Trump's historic cases – a change the institution made a week after The Washington Post reported that a temporary placard containing his name had been removed from the exhibit as part of a Smithsonian content review prompted by White House pressure to oust a museum director. The new text makes minor changes to – and offers slightly fewer details than – the temporary signage. 'The National Museum of American History has completed its update to the Impeachment case within 'The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden' exhibition,' the Smithsonian said in a statement on Friday. 'The updated display now reflects all presidential impeachments. Adhering to principles foundational to our role as the nation's museum, we take great care to ensure that what we present to the public reflects both intellectual integrity and thoughtful design.' The statement said that the interim sign, which had been in place from September 2021 until this July, was removed because it was not consistent with other sections of the exhibit and blocked the display case. 'We removed it to make way for a more permanent update to the content inside the case,' the Smithsonian said. The removal drew swift outcry from some members of the public as well as several Democratic leaders. The Smithsonian Institution has faced growing concerns about political interference at the education and research complex amid the Trump administration's efforts to exert more control over its work. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer called the removal 'pathetic' during Senate floor remarks last week. 'You can't make this up,' he said. 'This is a man rewriting history – or thinking he can rewrite history. He can't, but he thinks he can.' The Smithsonian said last week that no government official asked them to remove content from the exhibit. It also said that no other changes had been made at the museum. In a statement, Lindsey Halligan, a White House official charged with scrutinizing 'improper ideology' at the Smithsonian, reiterated that the White House wasn't involved with the revision. 'That said, it's encouraging to see the institution taking steps that align with President Trump's Executive Order to restore truth to American History. As part of that truth, it's important to note that President Trump was acquitted twice by Senate, fully and on every count – a fact that belongs in the historical record.' Some edits to the display's text are evident, including the addition of the word 'alleged' in the placard's description of the conduct that led to Trump's first impeachment. The display's main panel was also updated to reflect include Trump's name alongside Andrew Johnson, Richard M. Nixon and Bill Clinton. Of Trump's first impeachment, the impeachment display now reads: 'On December 18, 2019, the House impeached Donald Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The charges focused on the president's alleged solicitation of foreign interference in the 2020 presidential election and defiance of Congressional subpoenas. Trump was acquitted in January 2020.' The temporary placard had read: 'On December 18, 2019, the House impeached Donald Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The charges focused on the president's solicitation of foreign interference in the 2020 presidential election and his defiance of Congressional subpoenas. President Trump was acquitted in January 2020.' Trump is the only president to have been impeached twice. In 2019, he was charged by the House with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress for his attempts to withhold military aid meant for Ukraine and pressure its government to investigate his political rival Biden. He was acquitted by the Senate in 2020. Then, just over a year later, Trump was impeached again, on a charge of incitement of insurrection following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. He was acquitted a second time, after leaving office. Of his second impeachment, the display reads: 'On January 13, 2021, Donald Trump became the first president to be impeached twice. The charge was incitement of insurrection based on his challenge of the 2020 election results and on his speech on January 6. Because Trump's term ended on January 20, he became the first former president tried by the Senate. He was acquitted on February 13, 2021.' The temporary placard had read: 'On January 13, 2021, Donald Trump became the first president to be impeached twice. The charge was incitement of insurrection, based on repeated 'false statements' challenging the 2020 election results and his January 6 speech that 'encouraged – and foreseeably resulted in – imminent lawless action at the Capitol.' Because Trump's term ended on January 20, his acquittal on February 13 made him the first former president tried by the Senate.' Since returning to the White House in January for his second term, Trump has attempted to exert influence over prominent cultural institutions, including by taking over the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, making drastic changes at the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities and imposing budget cuts on the National Park Service. In March, Trump signed an executive order to eliminate 'divisive narratives' across the Smithsonian museums and 'restore the Smithsonian Institution to its rightful place as a symbol of inspiration and American greatness.' Months later, he attempted to fire Kim Sajet, the director of the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery, for being a 'highly partisan' person – though he had no authority to do so. The White House provided a list of 17 instances it said supported the president's claims about her, including the caption for the museum's presidential portrait of Trump mentioning his two impeachments and 'incitement of insurrection.' Early Friday afternoon in the 'American Presidency' exhibition, visitors milled about the display case. Some had been aware of the Trump text's removal. 'I heard it was taken out, and I came here to see it,' said Jodi Lindstrom, 49, visiting from Minneapolis. 'I don't think it's a good idea for the president to have a say over what is history. … You can't erase it. It's what happened. So I'm very happy to see it back in.' Following The Post's reporting about the change, the Smithsonian said it would restore Trump to the impeachment display 'in the coming weeks.' 'It does say four now,' said Ed Burk, 75, of Washington, D.C., leaning in to examine the display. But he wasn't satisfied by the alterations. 'Clinton gets a little more attention. Why not something as big for Donald Trump?' Mindy Kiser, 52, visiting from Wichita, had not previously heard about the exhibition's alterations. 'It's disappointing to know that the museum may have caved to outside influences but also reassuring to know that they did the right thing and restored whatever they took away,' Kiser said. Her eyes lingered on the other items in the display case, and then the Trump text, displayed low with two small artifacts: admission to the Senate gallery for impeachment proceedings. 'The fact that he's been impeached twice, it does seem to be a little bit smaller, in my opinion,' she said. But 'in these days, we should just be happy that it's represented at all.'
Boston Globe
4 days ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Is Trump trying to sanitize his political legacy at the Smithsonian?
Andrew Johnson, the first president to be impeached, is there. So is Bill Clinton. Richard Nixon, who, at the height of the Watergate scandal, resigned rather than face impeachment, is also referenced. Get The Gavel A weekly SCOTUS explainer newsletter by columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr. Enter Email Sign Up But the exhibit, 'The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden,' does not mention Trump, who was first impeached by the Democrat-led House in 2019 for Advertisement In 2021, Trump was again impeached by the House, this time But visitors to the American presidency exhibit will learn nothing about that, as Trump may again be attempting to whitewash this nation's history to sanitize his own scandal-scarred political career. Advertisement Trump may also be trying to rewrite his own personal history after his Justice Department's abrupt refusal last month to release its files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, his former friend, who reportedly died by suicide in a New York jail while awaiting trial on federal child sex trafficking charges in 2019. But what's happened at the National Museum of American History may be yet another effort by Trump to expunge inconvenient truths, especially when they pertain to him. So far, the Trump administration has made no comment about last month's removal of his impeachments from the exhibit, but their sudden disappearance perhaps reveals more than Karoline Leavitt, Trump's press secretary, ever would. In a The impeachment section, the statement said, 'will be updated in the coming weeks to reflect all impeachment proceedings in our nation's history.' Given past actions, it's hard to imagine that Trump will allow any public exhibit to highlight his impeachments. During his decade in politics, concealing the truth has been his standard operating procedure. It's why Trump always claims that something is 'rigged' when it doesn't go his way or he's trying to shirk responsibility for his own errant actions. Advertisement Trump continues to lie that the 2020 presidential election that he lost was 'rigged.' He's warbling a similar refrain as his reason for his At least in public, there's no evidence that he has considered how his erratic tariffs are affecting job creation statistics and the overall economy. And Trump is still trying to erase the horrors that millions witnessed in real time when his followers stormed the Capitol. Even as shattered glass and human excrement left by white supremacists was still on the floor of the Capitol rotunda, Trump was spinning a tale to convince viewers that they did not see exactly what they saw. On his first day back in office, Trump Museums change and update exhibits all the time. But given Trump's war against history, the museum's explanation seems a little suspect. The coming weeks will show where the truth lies, but the fact that this conversation even needs to be had shows just how much damage the Trump administration's anti-truth telling has already inflicted. Renée Graham is a Globe columnist. She can be reached at
Indian Express
6 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Trump impeachment details removed from an exhibition will now be restored
Weeks after news reports pointed out that Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington DC has removed references to President Trump's two first-term impeachments from the exhibit titled 'The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden', the museum has now issued a statement announcing that placard will be reinstated. In a release issued, the Smithsonian said, 'The section in question, Impeachment, will be updated in the coming weeks to reflect all impeachment proceedings in our nation's history.' Responding to allegations that the removal was an outcome of political pressure, it added, 'The placard, which was meant to be a temporary addition to a twenty-five year-old exhibition, did not meet the museum's standards in appearance, location, timeline and overall presentation. It was not consistent with other sections in the exhibit and moreover blocked the view of the objects inside its case. For these reasons, we removed the placard. We were not asked by any Administration or other government official to remove content from the exhibit.'\ The placard was part of the 'impeachments' section that also includes reference to the impeachments of Presidents Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton, and the Watergate scandal that ultimately led to President Richard Nixon's resignation. The temporary label on Trump was reportedly added in 2021, and detailed the impeachments in 2019 and 2021, days before the end of his first term. The removal of the placard also came just weeks after President Trump claimed he was firing Kim Sajet, director of the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery. In a post on Truth Social on May 30, he wrote: 'Upon the request and recommendation of many people, I am hereby terminating the employment of Kim Sajet as Director of the National Portrait Gallery. She is a highly partisan person, and a strong supporter of DEI, which is totally inappropriate for her position.' In response, the Smithsonian released a statement on June 9 reaffirming its status as an 'independent entity'. It stated, 'Since its inception, the Smithsonian has set out to be a nonpartisan institution…The Board of Regents is committed to ensuring that the Smithsonian is a beacon of scholarship free from political or partisan influence, and we recognize that our institution can and must do more to further these foundational values.'
New York Post
6 days ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Smithsonian denies Trump admin pushed to get rid of exhibit's impeachment placard
The Smithsonian on Saturday denied it was pressured into removing a placard detailing the two impeachments against President Trump at an exhibit in the National Museum of American History. The federal arts and history institution, while confirming it removed the placard from the impeachment section of its 'The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden' exhibit last month, said it did so only because of aesthetic concerns. 'We were not asked by any Administration or other government official to remove content from the exhibit,' the Smithsonian said in a statement. 4 The exhibit spotlights US presidents who were impeached — or in the case of Richard Nixon, nearly. REUTERS It explained that the move was made because 'the placard … did not meet the museum's standards in appearance, location, timeline and overall presentation. 'It was not consistent with other sections in the exhibit and moreover blocked the view of the objects inside its case. For these reasons, we removed the placard,' the Smithsonian said. 'The section in question, Impeachment, will be updated in the coming weeks to reflect all impeachment proceedings in our nation's history,' it added. 4 The impeachment display is part of a broader exhibit on the American presidency. REUTERS Last week, the Washington Post reported that references to Trump's two impeachments had been scrubbed from the exhibit and claimed that it was the result of a content review the museum chain initiated under pressure from the administration. Some lefty critics quickly jumped on the notion, ripping the administration. But the Smithsonian explained that the placard in question was intended only to be a 'temporary' add-on to the exhibit, which is about 25 years old. 4 Donald Trump is the first US president to have been impeached twice and survived. AP Trump is one of three US presidents to have been impeached, or had charges brought against him, by the House, alongside Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton. All three were eventually acquitted by the Senate. Former President Richard Nixon is also mentioned in the Smithsonian display, although he resigned right before he could be impeached over Watergate. The first impeachment against Trump in 2019 was over his alleged pressure campaign to leverage aid for Ukraine to entice the US ally to dig up dirt on the Biden family. His second impeachment took place over the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Trump is also the first former or sitting US president to be criminally indicted — something he also survived. The charges involved falsifying business records. Trump's White House team has been leaning on the Smithsonian to root out wokeness in its policies and exhibits. In March, the president signed an executive order seeking to eliminate any alleged divisive narratives and to champion 'American' values. 4 Smithsonian officials denied that political interference led to the removal of a placard detailing Trump's impeachments. REUTERS 'The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden' exhibit opened to the public in 2000 and features a photo from Johnson's impeachment, copies of a report that sparked Clinton's impeachment and a battered filing cabinet from the Watergate controversy. Trump is briefly mentioned in a web-page companion to the exhibit.
Calgary Herald
6 days ago
- Politics
- Calgary Herald
Smithsonian to restore Trump impeachment exhibit ‘in the coming weeks'
The Smithsonian said on Saturday that it would restore information about President Donald Trump's two impeachments to an exhibit in the National Museum of American History within weeks. Article content The Washington Post reported on Thursday that in July, the museum removed a placard describing Trump's impeachments and reverted the exhibit to how it looked in 2008. That display – a glass case dominated by a file cabinet damaged in the Watergate break-in – says that 'only three presidents have seriously faced removal': Andrew Johnson, Richard M. Nixon and Bill Clinton. Article content Article content The placard mentioning Trump was removed from the exhibition, 'The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden,' after what the Smithsonian called a 'review' of 'legacy content.' A person familiar with the exhibit plans, who was not authorized to discuss them publicly, previously told The Post the placard was removed as part of a content review the Smithsonian undertook following pressure from the White House to remove an art museum director. Article content As the keeper of memory for the nation, it is our privilege and responsibility to tell accurate and complete histories. As has been recently reported, in July, a placard was removed from @amhistorymuseum 's exhibit 'The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden.' The intent of the… — Smithsonian (@smithsonian) August 2, 2025 Article content 'We were not asked by any Administration or other government official to remove content from the exhibit,' the Smithsonian said in a statement Saturday. 'The section in question, Impeachment, will be updated in the coming weeks to reflect all impeachment proceedings in our nation's history.' Article content Article content Before it was removed last month, the placard had been on display since September 2021, according to a Smithsonian spokesperson. It read, 'Case under redesign (history happens),' and mentioned Trump's two impeachments, as well as details about the other three presidents. Article content In 2019, Trump was charged by the House with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress for his attempts to pressure the Ukrainian government to investigate Joe Biden. Two years later, he became the first president to be impeached twice when the House charged him with inciting an insurrection during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. The Senate acquitted Trump both times, so he was never removed from office. Article content Article content Trump has attempted to exert influence over prominent cultural institutions in his second term, taking over the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, making drastic changes at the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, and imposing budget cuts on the National Park Service. In March, he signed an executive order to eliminate 'anti-American ideology' across the Smithsonian museums and 'restore the Smithsonian Institution to its rightful place as a symbol of inspiration and American greatness.' Article content National Museum of American History spokeswoman Valeska Hilbig told The Post that removing the placard was the only change it made as a result of its content review. Article content In Saturday's statement, the Smithsonian defended its decision to remove the placard even as it promised to quickly add Trump's impeachments back to the exhibit. Article content 'The placard, which was meant to be a temporary addition to a twenty-five year-old exhibition, did not meet the museum's standards in appearance, location, timeline, and overall presentation,' the statement said. 'It was not consistent with other sections in the exhibit and moreover blocked the view of the objects inside its case. For these reasons, we removed the placard.'
