\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSmithsonian Institution Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III (photo credit: Black Enterprise)<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tby Selena Hill <\/p>\n
July 10, 2026<\/p>\n
The Smithsonian Institution defends its museums after the White House accused the National Museum of American History of promoting radical activism.<\/p>\n
Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch, III, is defending the nation\u2019s largest museum complex after a scathing White House report accused the National Museum of American History of promoting \u201cthinly veiled anti-Americanism\u201d and \u201cextreme political activism.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 162-page report, titled Saving America\u2019s Story<\/em>, was released by the White House Domestic Policy Council on July 4 as part of the Trump administration\u2019s broader effort to reshape how American history is presented at federally supported cultural institutions. The report alleges that the Smithsonian has become ideologically biased<\/a> and argues that its exhibits fail to present a patriotic and unifying narrative of the nation\u2019s past, Reuters<\/em> reports. <\/p>\n \u201cThe thinly veiled anti-Americanism on display at NMAH is merely a symptom of the widespread belief among Smithsonian leadership that America is, and has been since Columbus first set foot in the New \u200bWorld, a fundamentally oppressive nation,\u201d the \u200bWhite House report said, adding that the museum has moved \u201ctoward an extreme political activism.\u201d<\/p>\n The report went on to accuse the museum of \u201canti-White activism,\u201d \u201cillegal alien activism,\u201d and \u201ctransgender activism,\u201d reports ABC News<\/em>. It also criticizes museum exhibits and programming for emphasizing issues such as slavery, race, and systemic inequality.<\/p>\n \u201cAs it stands today, it would benefit most Americans, especially parents bringing their children for a tour, if the Smithsonian\u2019s flagship history museum had a label at every entrance that reads: \u2018Warning: the exhibits in this museum were prepared by people who don\u2019t want you to love your country,’\u201d reads the report.<\/p>\n The White House review was launched in response to the executive order<\/a> President Donald Trump signed in March 2025\u00a0directing Vice President J.D. Vance and federal advisors \u201cto remove improper ideology\u201d from Smithsonian institutions that he believes cast America in a \u201cnegative light.\u201d<\/p>\n In a memo sent to Smithsonian employees on July 7, Bunch rejected the administration\u2019s characterization.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile there will always be room for improvement, this report is not a fair characterization of the work and totality of the National Museum of American History,\u201d Bunch wrote, according to Reuters<\/em>.<\/p>\n Bunch, who became the Smithsonian\u2019s first Black secretary in 2019 after founding the Smithsonian\u2019s National Museum of African American History and Culture, defended the institution\u2019s commitment to presenting a complete account of the American experience. According to Reuters<\/em>, he emphasized that while there is always room to improve, the museum remains committed to accurately portraying U.S. history rather than advancing a political agenda.<\/p>\n The Organization of American Historians, the nation\u2019s largest professional association of U.S. historians, also condemned the White House report, calling it an attempt to pressure the institution into aligning its exhibits with the administration\u2019s political agenda.<\/p>\n \u201cIn another example of executive branch overreach, the White House is seeking to coerce Smithsonian leadership to shape its presentation of U.S. history so that it serves the administration\u2019s political agenda,\u201d the organization said in a statement.<\/p>\n RELATED CONTENT: Confederate Flag Controversy Overshadows Trump\u2019s \u2018Great American State Fair\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III (photo credit: Black Enterprise) by Selena Hill July 10, 2026 The Smithsonian Institution defends its museums after the White House accused the National Museum of American History of promoting radical activism. Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch, III, is defending the nation\u2019s largest museum complex after a scathing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35423,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2026\/05\/2017-BMX-LONNIE-BUNCH.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10666],"tags":[25333,8807,1494,196,25332,25331,25329,8049,1362,25327,25328,62,25330],"class_list":["post-35422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reparations","tag-antiamericanism","tag-bunch","tag-claims","tag-house","tag-lonnie","tag-lonnie-g-bunch","tag-national-museum-of-american-history","tag-racism","tag-responds","tag-the-smithsonians-national-museum-of-african-american-history-and-culture","tag-trump-administation","tag-white","tag-white-house"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2026\/05\/2017-BMX-LONNIE-BUNCH.jpg",0,0,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2026\/05\/2017-BMX-LONNIE-BUNCH.jpg",0,0,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2026\/05\/2017-BMX-LONNIE-BUNCH.jpg",0,0,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2026\/05\/2017-BMX-LONNIE-BUNCH.jpg",150,150,false],"medium":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2026\/05\/2017-BMX-LONNIE-BUNCH.jpg",300,300,false],"large":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2026\/05\/2017-BMX-LONNIE-BUNCH.jpg",1024,1024,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2026\/05\/2017-BMX-LONNIE-BUNCH.jpg",1536,1536,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2026\/05\/2017-BMX-LONNIE-BUNCH.jpg",2048,2048,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2026\/05\/2017-BMX-LONNIE-BUNCH.jpg",370,265,false],"kava-thumb-s":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2026\/05\/2017-BMX-LONNIE-BUNCH.jpg",150,85,false],"kava-thumb-s-2":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2026\/05\/2017-BMX-LONNIE-BUNCH.jpg",230,230,false],"kava-thumb-m":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2026\/05\/2017-BMX-LONNIE-BUNCH.jpg",400,400,false],"kava-thumb-m-vertical":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2026\/05\/2017-BMX-LONNIE-BUNCH.jpg",370,500,false],"kava-thumb-m-2":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2026\/05\/2017-BMX-LONNIE-BUNCH.jpg",570,450,false],"kava-thumb-l":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2026\/05\/2017-BMX-LONNIE-BUNCH.jpg",1170,650,false],"kava-thumb-xl":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2026\/05\/2017-BMX-LONNIE-BUNCH.jpg",1920,1080,false],"kava-thumb-masonry":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2026\/05\/2017-BMX-LONNIE-BUNCH.jpg",600,999,false],"kava-thumb-justify":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2026\/05\/2017-BMX-LONNIE-BUNCH.jpg",640,640,false],"kava-thumb-justify-2":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2026\/05\/2017-BMX-LONNIE-BUNCH.jpg",1280,640,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"#RiseCelestialStudios","author_link":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/author\/ralph-c\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"REPARATIONS NEWS<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III (photo credit: Black Enterprise) by Selena Hill July 10, 2026 The Smithsonian Institution defends its museums after the White House accused the National Museum of American History of promoting radical activism. Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch, III, is defending the nation\u2019s largest museum complex after a scathing…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35422"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35422\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35424,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35422\/revisions\/35424"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}