Matthew Chapman
July 24, 2026
RAW STORY
U.S. President Donald Trump smiles during an announcement about "Trump accounts", in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., December 2, 2025. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
President Donald Trump issued a new executive order on Friday demanding warning signs be placed outside the Smithsonian Museum of American History.
The order, which is meant to alert visitors that the institution has been taken over by liberal "ideological capture" and expresses "inaccurate" views of American history that the Trump administration doesn't endorse, earned instant fury from commenters on social media.
"Trump massively escalates against the Smithsonian," wrote New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman.
"Trump just ordered warning signs and exhibits to be installed outside the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History to alert the public that the museum does not, in his view, accurately reflect American history," wrote MS NOW "Weeknight" executive producer Kyle Griffin. "For the record: It does."
"This is one of the dumbest and most bizarre Executive Orders we have ever read," wrote Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM). "Clearly, this Administration knows they are trying to commit Executive overreach over our nation’s independent cultural institutions. This EO is a clear political overreach, driven by an ideological agenda to rewrite American history. Our Smithsonian institutions do not belong to the President, but to the American people and so does our nation’s history."
"This EO should be titled: 'Time to destroy the Smithsonian just like I did the Kennedy Center,'" wrote Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR).
"This Smithsonian executive order is amazingly weak and petulant," wrote Mother Jones reporter Dan Friedman. "Trump can't or won't order the Smithsonian American History Museum to change their exhibits to push the propaganda he wants, so he's telling NPS to post signs outside attacking the museum."
"I thought electing Trump meant no more trigger warnings and safe spaces," wrote independent journalist Mike Rothschild.
"Trump’s absurdities are boundless," wrote retired Missouri State University president Mike Nietzel.
U.S. President Donald Trump smiles during an announcement about "Trump accounts", in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., December 2, 2025. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
President Donald Trump issued a new executive order on Friday demanding warning signs be placed outside the Smithsonian Museum of American History.
The order, which is meant to alert visitors that the institution has been taken over by liberal "ideological capture" and expresses "inaccurate" views of American history that the Trump administration doesn't endorse, earned instant fury from commenters on social media.
"Trump massively escalates against the Smithsonian," wrote New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman.
"Trump just ordered warning signs and exhibits to be installed outside the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History to alert the public that the museum does not, in his view, accurately reflect American history," wrote MS NOW "Weeknight" executive producer Kyle Griffin. "For the record: It does."
"This is one of the dumbest and most bizarre Executive Orders we have ever read," wrote Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM). "Clearly, this Administration knows they are trying to commit Executive overreach over our nation’s independent cultural institutions. This EO is a clear political overreach, driven by an ideological agenda to rewrite American history. Our Smithsonian institutions do not belong to the President, but to the American people and so does our nation’s history."
"This EO should be titled: 'Time to destroy the Smithsonian just like I did the Kennedy Center,'" wrote Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR).
"This Smithsonian executive order is amazingly weak and petulant," wrote Mother Jones reporter Dan Friedman. "Trump can't or won't order the Smithsonian American History Museum to change their exhibits to push the propaganda he wants, so he's telling NPS to post signs outside attacking the museum."
"I thought electing Trump meant no more trigger warnings and safe spaces," wrote independent journalist Mike Rothschild.
"Trump’s absurdities are boundless," wrote retired Missouri State University president Mike Nietzel.
'Bizarre': Trump mocked after 'dumbest' order yet installs warnings outside Smithsonian
David Edwards
July 24, 2026
July 24, 2026
RAW STORY
Visitors attend the opening of The Great American State Fair on the National Mall, with the Smithsonian Castle in the background, in Washington D.C., U.S., June 25, 2026. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
Lawmakers and historians ridiculed President Donald Trump's executive order directing warning signs outside the Smithsonian's history museum, calling it the "dumbest" order yet.
Trump signed the order Friday, directing the National Park Service to install warning signs on public sidewalks outside the National Museum of American History, according to the executive order.
The order accuses museum leadership of "ideological capture" and says the signs must direct visitors to "locations and resources for accurate information regarding America's history."
"He's insisting on posting these ignorant signs on sidewalks and walkways because he has no control over what is INSIDE the museum," Yale historian Joanne Freeman wrote on Bluesky.
"Notably, this absurd executive order appears to recognize that Trump cannot directly control the Smithsonian," former Justice Department official Eric Columbus wrote on Bluesky. The signs, Columbus noted, are ordered onto sidewalks maintained by the National Park Service — not on the museum itself.
"This is one of the dumbest and most bizarre Executive Orders we have ever read," Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM) wrote on X.
"This EO is a clear political overreach, driven by an ideological agenda to rewrite American history," Stansbury added.
"Time to destroy the Smithsonian just like I did the Kennedy Center," Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) wrote on X.
In March 2025, Trump signed an executive order titled "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History" — the opening move in a 16-month campaign against the museum.
By August 2025, his administration had launched a formal review of eight Smithsonian museums. On July 4 of this year — the nation's 250th anniversary — the White House released a 162-page report accusing the museum of using American history as a "prime tool" to advance social justice.
Congressional hearings grilling museum director Anthea Hartig followed this week, according to the New York Times.
"Historians are appalled," University of Massachusetts historian Samuel J. Redman told the Times. "The Smithsonian has been known for trying to present a consensus version of history."
"When historians talk about reframing a traditional narrative, we don't mean erasing it," Hartig said at this week's hearings, according to the Times. "We mean adding the evidence, the voices, the objects that earlier tellings left out so that more Americans can see themselves reflected in the national story."
Stansbury had the last word on social media.
"Our Smithsonian institutions do not belong to the president, but the American people, and so does our national story," she wrote.
Visitors attend the opening of The Great American State Fair on the National Mall, with the Smithsonian Castle in the background, in Washington D.C., U.S., June 25, 2026. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
Lawmakers and historians ridiculed President Donald Trump's executive order directing warning signs outside the Smithsonian's history museum, calling it the "dumbest" order yet.
Trump signed the order Friday, directing the National Park Service to install warning signs on public sidewalks outside the National Museum of American History, according to the executive order.
The order accuses museum leadership of "ideological capture" and says the signs must direct visitors to "locations and resources for accurate information regarding America's history."
"He's insisting on posting these ignorant signs on sidewalks and walkways because he has no control over what is INSIDE the museum," Yale historian Joanne Freeman wrote on Bluesky.
"Notably, this absurd executive order appears to recognize that Trump cannot directly control the Smithsonian," former Justice Department official Eric Columbus wrote on Bluesky. The signs, Columbus noted, are ordered onto sidewalks maintained by the National Park Service — not on the museum itself.
"This is one of the dumbest and most bizarre Executive Orders we have ever read," Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM) wrote on X.
"This EO is a clear political overreach, driven by an ideological agenda to rewrite American history," Stansbury added.
"Time to destroy the Smithsonian just like I did the Kennedy Center," Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) wrote on X.
In March 2025, Trump signed an executive order titled "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History" — the opening move in a 16-month campaign against the museum.
By August 2025, his administration had launched a formal review of eight Smithsonian museums. On July 4 of this year — the nation's 250th anniversary — the White House released a 162-page report accusing the museum of using American history as a "prime tool" to advance social justice.
Congressional hearings grilling museum director Anthea Hartig followed this week, according to the New York Times.
"Historians are appalled," University of Massachusetts historian Samuel J. Redman told the Times. "The Smithsonian has been known for trying to present a consensus version of history."
"When historians talk about reframing a traditional narrative, we don't mean erasing it," Hartig said at this week's hearings, according to the Times. "We mean adding the evidence, the voices, the objects that earlier tellings left out so that more Americans can see themselves reflected in the national story."
Stansbury had the last word on social media.
"Our Smithsonian institutions do not belong to the president, but the American people, and so does our national story," she wrote.
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